Pokemon: Chaotic World
by Revenantzero
Summary: It's a whole new world. A world were Pokemon and their trainers are something to be feared. This is the story of a new trainer who must survive his new life as a Pokemon trainer and leave the life that he has known behind. Watch as he struggles through a Pokemon world unlike any that you know. AU Pokemon World.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A New World

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its affiliated companies.

Notes: This story is based on a different Pokemon world. It features original characters and may features some original Pokemon. This may include Pokemon up to generation 6. There are some ideas borrowed from the Naruto Manga as well as The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. However, this is not a crossover fanfiction. I will try to update at least once a week. Updates will depend on my hectic work schedule. Reviews are welcome but not needed. This is simply a story idea of mine that I have been wanting to try. This is my first fanfiction story so be gentle with me.

Pokemon: Chaotic World

Today is the day. The day that every child dreads. Today is Selection Day. The day that the newest batch of potential Pokemon trainers are selected. From the time that every child is old enough to understand what a Pokemon is, they are filled with fear as they come closer each year to reaching the dreaded age of 11. That is the age where they begin attending Selection Day. The day that chance will decide if they remain a relatively safe civilian or a sacrificing Pokemon trainer.

The world was not always like this. Long ago, children could not wait for their eleventh birthday. The day that they could become a Pokemon trainer and receive their first Pokemon. Trainers would then travel far and wide, catching and training Pokemon. Some would use these Pokemon to challenge gyms to earn badges that would qualify them for Pokemon League Tournaments. Others would enter them in contests to show of their Pokemon. Whatever the reason, being a Pokemon trainer was once considered a right of passage for every child.

All that changed after the Cataclysm. This event was caused due to the actions of one of the Pokemon gangs of the time, Team Rocket. Team Rocket was an organization that used Pokemon to commit various crimes. They captured and stole strong Pokemon to vandalize, steal and even murder. Their ultimate goal was to capture the legendary Pokemon and use them to conquer the world. After years of trying and failing to catch a legendary they finally succeeded. Raijin, the Pokemon god of thunder and lightning was captured by Team Rocket. On that day, the legendary Pokemon declared war on humanity.

Millions of wild Pokemon led by the enraged legendary Pokemon attacked the human settlements across the world. The villages and small towns were the first to fall. Although the trainers in those small settlements tried to protect the civilians, they were vastly outnumbered. Most of those settlements were wiped out in a matter of minutes. Both humans and trained Pokemon were torn apart by the creatures we once coexisted with. Those that managed to survive the first assault evacuated their homes and headed to the nearest large town or city. They hoped that the larger trainer population as well as the powerful gym leaders in those settlements would be enough to protect them. Sadly, most of the evacuees did not survive the journey.

By this time the Pokemon Leagues of the various regions managed to rally the surviving trainers. Trainers were organized into squads and set on guard duty around the settlements. The trainers were ordered to catch as many of the local wild Pokemon as possible to prepare for the fight they new was coming. Unfortunately, the rage of the legendary Pokemon infected all wild Pokemon. Even the most normally docile Pokemon attacked any human on sight. Captured Pokemon became much harder to tame than before. Newly captured Pokemon instantly attacked their unprepared trainers on first being released from their pokeballs. Trainers had no choice but to try to dominate the wills of their new Pokemon and force them to obey.

While the leagues were preparing, the civilian governments were also forming their own preparations. Construction crews and volunteers were quickly constructing tall walls around the towns and cities in the hopes of keeping out most of the wild Pokemon. Crops were rushed in from the outlying farms. Underground shelters were dug up within the city boundaries. The cities were preparing for a long siege.

Despite all their preparation, none of them were prepared for the oncoming storm. The day came were hordes of Pokemon descended on the remaining cities. While the walls kept out the weaker Pokemon, the stronger were able to break through. Pokemon swarmed the cities, destroying buildings and attacking any human in sight. The trainers and their Pokemon did their best to drive them out but most were overwhelmed and brought down. Just when it seemed that humanity was going to be driven to extinction, the attacking Pokemon stopped. All the wild Pokemon stood in place staring up at the sky. After a few minutes they all turned around and began leaving the cities.

To this day none know the reason why the Pokemon did not finish the humans off. The survivors only gave their thanks for being spared. Those who survived the final assault remained in the shelters until supplies began running low. At that point they sent out some of the remaining trainers beyond the city boundaries to see if it was safe to venture out. They soon returned with troubling news. While the wild Pokemon returned to their natural habitats, they continued to be aggressive towards any human they came across. It was no longer safe to leave the settlements without having a Pokemon for protection.

What remained of the Pokemon Leagues and the civilian governments needed to take immediate action. Representatives came together to select the course of action needed to survive this new world.

It was decided that humans would no longer live spread out into many settlements of various sizes. Instead, all humans would live within the remaining towns and cities for their protection. The walls would be rebuild and reinforced. All settlements would need to be primarily self sufficient. Farming would have to be done within the city walls. The few resources that could not be produced within the walls would need to be traded for from other cities or carefully gathered from the wilds. No civilian would be permitted from leaving the settlements without being escorted by a Pokemon trainer.

The lives of Pokemon trainers underwent some changes as well. No longer was being a trainer about being the best there was or winning tournaments. Trainers became the first and last line of defense that stood between humanity and the vicious wild Pokemon. Instead of collecting badges, trainers were now paid to complete missions. These missions can be anything from guard duty within the city to escorting a civilian outside the walls. How much they were paid depended on the difficulty of the mission.

Because of the forced isolation between the cities, regional governments were disbanded. Each city was declared a city state and ruled itself without outside interference. The Pokemon Leagues remained and continued to govern the lives of Pokemon trainers within their regions. The leagues had offices in every city state were they received mission requests from the city state governments and from private citizens. They then organized and posted the missions according to difficulty.

The civilian governments were dependent on trainers for their survival. However, as a result of The Cataclysm Pokemon became the cause of terror for most humans. No longer did the leagues have thousands of children eager to become trainers each year. There were very few who desired to become trainers in this new world. Because of the shortage of new trainers needed to maintain the new status quo, the league and city state officials once again met and established a new policy. Once a year every city state held what became know as the Selection Day. On Selection Day, all children from ages 11 to 15 would stand before the league and city state officials where a small number would be randomly chosen to become that year's batch of potential Pokemon trainers. Wealth and social standing meant nothing, all children within the age limit were forced to attend. Those potential trainers would be put through an Ordeal to prove they had what it takes to be a Pokemon trainer. Failure was not an option. From that point on, their old civilian lives were over. They either succeeded as a Pokemon trainer or became the dregs of society, not being able to go back to the lives they once new.

A hundred years have passed since the Cataclysm. Humanity has struggled to rise from the ashes of the old world. Selection Days continue to be held each year. Today is the day where I and others like me must once again face the dreaded choice. Today was Selection Day.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Selection Day

My name is Jacob Singleton. I am a 15 year old middle class teenager from the city state of Asidia. Today is the day that I stand for the fifth and final time for Asidia's Selection Day. Today is the day I have been looking forward to since I turned 11. After today I will no longer be required to put myself through this nightmarish day. Today is a bright day for me but it is also a dark day for my family. While today is the final Selection Day for myself, it is the first for my younger brother Bobby.

My family and I are riding one of the magnet trains from our home district to the central district where our city state is governed from. We are just one of many families on this journey. On this day, parents from every district in Asidia are escorting their eligible children to the City Hall where the selection takes place. Although the magnet train cart is nearly full, almost no sound was heard from within. None of us want to be here. Our parents do not want to lose any of their children to what they view as a hellish future. Most of the children are either frozen in terror or quietly crying. All are probably hoping to be going anywhere but central district. Unfortunately they are given little choice in this matter. Those who fail to show up will suffer severe penalties.

My family sits on a bench in one of the last train carts. My younger brother Bobby huddles in between my parents while my mom clutches him. My father and I sit stoically next to one another. Both of us have been staring at the floor since we sat down.

"So...today is the day," my father says, finally looking up from the floor. I can tell that the silence is getting to him. He has never been one to sit quietly for long periods of time.

"Yes, it is," I reply, not knowing what else to say.

"It's the last time you have to go through this nightmare," he says. "After today, you are a free man. You will be able to start getting your life in order and prepare for civilian life."

"The day is not over yet. I still have to make it through the selection. Who knows what will happen," I say.

"The odds are in your favor. There will be thousands of kids at the selection and only one of you. You will get through this," he says.

"I'm scared," a voice whispers. It is so soft that I almost missed it. Bobby was looking at us from my mother's arms.

"There's nothing to be scared about," my mother says. "It's just like your father said. There will be many children there and only one of you. The odds of being selected are small. Just look at your brother. He has stood on Selection day four times already and walked away without being chosen. The same will happen to you."

"But what if I do get chosen? I don't want to be a Pokemon trainer." Bobby starts crying softly and holding on to my mother as if his life depended on it.

"Stop that," my father says. "Crying wont solve anything. Just keep your head together and stay strong. You will make it through this."

"But what if I don't?" Bobby asks, still crying.

"Look at me," I finally say to him.

Bobby turns to look at me.

"If, by chance, you are chosen today then you have to remain strong. Dad is right, crying doesn't solve anything. You will just have to tough it out and accept the hand that has been dealt to you." I stare straight into Bobby's eyes as I say this to him.

"Jacob!" my mother admonishes, "don't say that to him. He wont be chosen. Neither of you will be chosen. Let's just make it though today and tonight we will all go home together."

"All I'm saying is that we have to be prepared for anything today. After all, someone will have to be chosen. He needs to be ready." I can see my mother getting ready to scold me. Luckily my father interrupts us.

"That's enough," he says firmly. "Whatever happens today happens. Let's not spend the day arguing amongst ourselves. Besides, we are bothering the other families in the cart."

I look around and sure enough, I see several of the other parents glaring our way. Some of the children that were quiet before were now crying as well. I look away from them and don't say a word. We all spend the rest of journey in silence.

Our train finally arrives in the central district. All the families slowly disembark from the train and start walking towards City Hall. Bobby continues to hold on to my mother while we all walk in silence. We finally make it to the outer courtyard of the Hall. The place is absolutely packed with people. There are long slow moving lines leading up to many booths were city officials sit. One by one the officials call forth each family in line and check them off against their computer. After waiting for what feels like hours, it is finally my family's turn.

"State your name, age and district," the official says to me without looking up.

"Jacob Singleton. Age 15. District 6," I say to him.

The official finally looks up to me. "You're last time on the chopping block huh?" he asks. He then types some keys on the computer. "I hope the odds are in your favor today. Head in to the inner courtyard and wait for the selection to begin. Next!"

I move to the side as my parents and Bobby move forward.

"State your name, age and district."

Bobby stands frozen in front of the official. After a moment my father finally speaks up.

"Robert Singleton. Age 11. District 6."

"First timer huh? I hope the odds are in your favor kid. Just head in to the inner courtyard and wait for the Selection to begin. Next!" he says, dismissing my family.

My family moves towards the gate which marks the boundary between the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard. We all stop at the gate.

"This is as far as your mother and I are allowed to go," my father says, more to Bobby then me. "Remember, keep your heads together and stay strong. We will be waiting for you here in the outer courtyard until the selection is done."

"We love you both," my mother says giving us both a hug.

My parents move back to give other parents some room to give their children some last minute encouragement. I turn to move into the inner courtyard then turn back when Bobby stays where he is.

"Come on. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go home."

After a few seconds Bobby reluctantly joins me as we both head through the gate to wait for the selection to start.

The inner courtyard is packed with children. It's hard to imagine that all the eligible children in the city state can fit here. I'm surrounded by other possible chosen. Some of the faces around me I recognize from my home district but I keep to myself. I've always been a loner by nature. Even on a day like today where most would seek a familiar face for comfort I chose to stand alone. Not Bobby though. He quickly spotted some kids that he goes to school with and now they are all huddled together a few feet behind me. I just stand quietly waiting for the selection to begin.

"It can't be much longer," I think to myself. "No more kids have stepped through the gate in almost 30 minutes."

I am staring at City Hall. In front of the entrance is a wooden stage that was erected for today's event. On the stage is a computer with a very large monitor attached. That computer is the device that will decided the future of some of the kids standing in the courtyard with me. The doors to the Hall remain closed. Soon those doors will open and our city state's governor and Pokemon Gym Leader will walk through and begin the selection process. It's been hours since my family set out for the Hall. Hunger has already started to set in. I can tell that most of the people around me would be hungry as well if they were not so terrified.

Finally, the doors of the Hall open. From inside come the two most recognized figures in Asidia. On the left walks Governor Jonis Brecher, the grey-haired ruler of our city state. On the right walks Alix Muliere, the scarred Gym Leader and most feared man in Asidia. Behind them walk six others, all wearing the arm badges which signify them being Pokemon Trainers. They all step onto the stage and arrange themselves with Governor Brecher and Leader Muliere on the front and the trainers spread out behind them.

The governor raises her hands and immediately both courtyards outside City Hall descend to silence. "Welcome children to this year's Selection Day," she says. "For those of you who are here for the first time let me introduce myself. I am Jonis Brecher, governor of our fair city state of Asidia. I would also like to introduce Alix Muliere, Gym Leader of the Asidia Gym and official representative of our region's Pokemon League."

There were some scattered applause from the crowd. The governor looks around at they assembled faces while the gym leader just stands with crossed arms. "You all know why you are here today. Today is the day that this year's batch of potential Pokemon trainers are selected from our population. Those chosen few will then be taken to the trainer district where they will be given a week to prepare for the Ordeal which determines if they become official Pokemon trainers. Those who pass their Ordeal will then move on to accepts the missions which are the lifeblood of our society."

The governor looks down for a moment then looks back out to the crowd. "I know that none of you have any desire to be here today. Most, if not all of you have heard terrifying stories about the lives of Pokemon trainers. Well, let me just tell all of you right now. Everything you have heard about Pokemon and trainers is true."

She stood quietly for a moment while that statement set in. "There is a reason that almost no child wishes to become a trainer. Pokemon are vicious monsters that would tear apart and devour each one of you if given the chance. If not for the wall that surrounds our city state, we would live in constant fear of Pokemon and the chaos the could unleash upon us." She pauses for a moment.

"However, the wall itself is not the solution to the Pokemon threat. Outside the wall exists Pokemon powerful enough to tear through the wall without breaking stride. There are Pokemon capable of flight who can simply go over the wall. There are even Pokemon that can simply dig underground and go under the wall to enter Asidia. Pokemon trainers have always been the first and last line of defense that stand between us and the monsters outside these walls. That is why we are here today. Selection Day is a needed measure to ensure that we have enough firepower to deal with any Pokemon threat." She stops and stares at the silent crowd for a moment.

"Without Pokemon trainers civilization as we know it would end. Know that those of you who are chosen today will be sacrificing your futures to ensure the continuing survival of the human race. I thank each one of you for coming hear today. To those of you who are chosen today I would like to say this. Our hearts go out to you and your families. Do not let your sacrifice be in vain. Be the best trainers that you can be and help us keep the great city state of Asidia safe for your families and all our citizens. Thank you." This time there is no applause as the governor steps back behind the gym leader.

After a moment of silence, Gym Leader Muliere finally speaks to the crowd. "I would like to thank the governor for her words and hope that all those who are chosen today and in the future take heart to everything she said. Pokemon training is not a game. It is not a hobby or a sport we play for glory. We perform a necessary function for this and all city states in our region. Survival of the human race depends on us. Think on that when you hear you name being called today."

He turns and nods to one of the trainers behind him. The trainer moves to sit in front of the computer. "I'm not one to mince words. I am sure all of you are anxious get on with the selection, so let's get this show on the road."

"As most of you know, every year a different number of potential trainers are chosen from each city state. This number is agreed upon by the Pokemon League and the governors according to perceived need. It has been decided that this year Asidia will choose four among you to become potential Pokemon trainers," he said.

The crowd of civilians began muttering to themselves after this announcement. Some of the prospective trainers became more worried while others became less so. Four would be chosen this year. Four names will be chosen at random to by the computer. Not a bad number, some years over a dozen names were called out on Selection Day.

Leader Muliere raised a hand to silence the crowd. "As all of you know, each year before the random names are chosen, we ask if there are any you who volunteer to be counted among today's chosen few. Any volunteers will be counted towards the four determined chosen and will mean less will be chosen by the computer." He stopped speaking and stared out into the crowd. "So, if any of you wish to volunteer to serve your city state and region by becoming a Pokemon trainer, now would be the time to speak up."

Utter silence. Not surprising really. It's a rare occurrence for anyone to volunteer on this day. Just as the Leader was about to move on a voice called out.

"I volunteer!"

Many in the crowd gasped and looked for the source of the voice. A figure moved towards the stage. "I volunteer!" he said again.

I took a good look at him. About my age. Scruffy torn clothes. Thin almost to the point of being emaciated. Clearly someone who has had a hard life.

"Lower class," I thought. "Probably from district nine."

Muliere motioned to the boy. He climbed up on the stage. They spoke silently for a few moments before the Leader turned back to the crowd. "This year we are honored to have a volunteer. Allow me to introduce Hugo Rawls." There was some applause directed at Hugo. Some of the other prospects looked happy that he volunteered.

"Well, with that we now have only three more chosen to select this year unless anyone else would like to volunteer." He looked around the crowd but there were no more volunteers. "Alright then, it's time to let chance select the other three chosen. " He turned to the trainer at the computer. "Begin."

The trainer hit a few keys and the monitor lit up. Names began appearing on the screen, disappearing almost as fast as they appeared. Everyone in the crowd became tense, myself included.

"This year's second chosen is," Muliere said while staring at the screen. The screen finally froze on a name. "Phillip Zacker!" He turned back to the crowd. "Phillip Zacker! Come forward!"

Everyone looked around until they spotted a boy walking slowly to the stage. A nerdy looking boy maybe 13 years old. He looked ready to pass out any second.

Muliere turned back to the monitor. "This year's third chosen is" The screen froze on another name. "Ginnette Beckwitt!"

A girl close to the stage fell to her knees and broke down crying. She was dressed in expensive clothing. She looked to be a little younger then me, possibly 14 years old.

"Upper class," I thought. "Clearly from district 3."

"Ginnette Beckwitt! Come forward!"

Ginnette gave no indication of hearing the Gym Leader. She simply remained on her knees and continued to cry. Muliere motioned to two of the trainers on stage and they moved towards Ginnette. They both picked her up and moved her to the stage as she struggled in their hands.

Once again every eye moved to the monitor. Muliere spoke up again, "this year's final chosen is." The screen stopped on the last name and I froze inside and out. "Robert Singleton!"

For a moment I could not think, I could barely breathe. This had to be a mistake."Not him," I thought. "He's too young, too innocent. He'll never survive as a trainer."

"Robert Singleton!" Muliere repeated. "Come forward!".

I turned around to look at my brother. Bobby stood alone, his friends having moved away from him after his name was called. More and more people in the crowd were turning to look at him as it became obvious that he was the final chosen.

"Robert Singleton!" Muliere repeated "Come forward!"

When Bobby stood frozen in the crowd Muliere motioned two of the trainer to go get him. The moved through the crowd towards Bobby as he began to look around at the crowd. Finally, his eyes met mine. We stared at one another for a moment, his eyes begging me for help. Just before the trainers reached him I spoke up.

"I volunteer!" I yelled. "I volunteer in my brother's place!"

The trainers both stopped. Everyone turned to stare at me. I turned back to the stage and found both the governor and Gym Leader's eyes locked on me. After a moment of silence, Muliere motioned me forward. I turned to look at my brother for a moment and then made my way to the stage. I walked forward slowly, almost in a trance. I finally walked up to the stage.

"This is your one and only chance to back out son," Muliere said to me quietly. "Be sure that this is what you want because there's no going back."

I looked him straight in his eyes. "I volunteer to take my brother's place," I said firmly.

He stared at me for a moment. "What's your name?" he asks

"My name is Jacob. Jacob Singleton," I reply.

He turns to the crowd. "This year we are honored to have a second volunteer! I present you Jacob Singleton!" No applause from the crowd. Everyone is still trying to process what just happened.

The governor moves forward to stand next to the Gym Leader. "We present to you this year's chosen. Hugo Rawls, Phillip Zacker, Ginnette Beckwitt, and Jacob Singleton!" she says before turning to the four of us. "From this day forward your civilian lives are over. Become strong trainers and make our city state proud." She moved away from us and began to clap. Slowly, the crowd in front of us started to clap as well. Judging from the looks and most the faces, they were not clapping for us being chosen. They were clapping in relief of them not being chosen.

The four of us stood on the stage letting our new reality sink in. I caught my brother's regret filled eyes and tried to convey a message with my own.

"Be strong," I thought while staring at my brother. "This is the hand that I've been dealt with. There is no going back."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Trainer District

After Governor Brecker dismissed the crowds of civilians, Muliere and the other trainers took us to the nearest magnet train. Our destination was district 10. After disembarking the train I stopped to look around my new home district. District 10, more commonly know as the trainer district, was the largest district in Asidia. Roughly 20 percent of the city state was reserved for Pokemon trainers. Despite this, this district possessed less buildings than any other district in Asidia. There was the small magnet train station which we were currently occupying. Near the station I could see the Pokemon Center. Scattered around the Center there were a few buildings which I assumed were residential buildings for trainers. Farthest from the station I could see the Asidia Pokemon gym, home of the Gym Leader and special training ground for elite trainers. The rest of this large district was filled with outdoor training grounds. I could see split sections of many different kinds of environments of various sizes. Some of the training grounds were currently occupied by single trainers or groups of trainers and their Pokemon.

Muliere led us forward until we reached the front of the Pokemon Center. He turned to us saying, "this here is our Pokemon Center. This is where you four will reside in for the foreseeable future. Over the next week, we will help you prepare for your Ordeals. For now though, you should all head inside and make yourselves at home. Tomorrow you have the day to yourselves. In two days you will begin your training week." He finished speaking before turning to walk away. The trainers with us gestured for us to enter the Center before they left in different directions.

As we entered the building we found ourselves in a small room with a large desk at the end. Around the room we could see six doors leading to other rooms. Behind the desk sat a middle aged woman wearing a trainer badge. "Welcome prospective trainers, to the Pokemon Center. My name is Annabelle. I am the night manager of this Pokemon Center," she said. "This Center will be your new home as you begin your new lives as Pokemon trainers. Follow me and I will show you around."

She approached us and led the way into the room to the right of the Center entrance. The room was filled with computers. Next to each computer was a small machine, each machine having six round slots in it. There was a handful of trainers in the room. Some of the small machines in front of the trainers held one or more pokeballs in the slots. "This here is the computer room," Annabelle said. "These computers have several different uses for trainers. Aside from being able to use the Net like any other computer, they possess a direct link to the mission office in central district. You can use that link to view available missions that you may be eligible for and accept any missions that you desire. Some of the missions are available for several trainers, others can only be chosen by one trainer or a small team of trainers."

She pointed to one of the small slotted machines. "Next to each computer is a device that has three primary uses. First, the device works with the Pokedex app in the computer. This app allows you to view all that stats of the Pokemon within the pokeballs you place in the slots. Second, the device has a transport feature. This feature breaks down pokeballs into computer code and sends the code to your trainer account storage on the Net. You may keep Pokemon stored for future use or you can trade or sell any of your captured Pokemon to trainers here or any other city state in the region. Finally, the device acts as a healing marchine which can fully recover any of your injured Pokemon back to fighting condition."

She led us out of the computer room and walked us over to the room across from it. The door to this room was locked. She took out some keys and unlocked the door, allowing us in. This room looked like a small convenience store. There were aisles with shelves filled with various item. Next to the entrance was a table that had a register on it. Behind the register was a locked glass case that had shelves filled with pokeballs.

"This is the Pokemart," Annabelle said. "This is where trainers buy the basic supplies that they need to train Pokemon and go on missions. The Pokemart is open each day from 8AM to 5PM. After that, if you absolutely need to buy any items that you may need for a mission, you must speak to me at the front desk so I can let you into the Mart to purchase items. Keep in mind that I will only open Mart after hours if there is a valid reason."

She led us out of the Pokemart and locked the door behind us. We then entered the room next to the Mart. The room was filled with chairs and couches. There were some television sets on the walls and two pool tables at the end. There were only two trainers in the room at one of the pool tables. "This is the Lounge. Trainers may come here to relax in between missions. This room is open at all hours. No food or drinks are allowed in here. No fighting or Pokemon battles are permitted in the Lounge. If you start any trouble in here or break any of the rules, you will be banned from the Lounge for a set amount of time. You have been warned."

We entered the room across from the Lounge. "This is the cafeteria. Like the Pokemart, this room is open from 8AM to 5PM. All trainers are entitled to one free meal a day. After that, any further meals must be paid using your funds from your trainer accounts. If you miss the open hours due to being on a mission, I will be able to open the room for you to receive a meal. For any other reason you are on your own for meals. Food may be taken out of the cafeteria but remember, no food or drink in the Lounge. That goes for the computer room as well."

She led us back to the front office and pointed out the last two doors on either side of the front desk. "Those last two doors lead to the Center barracks. On the right is the male barracks and the left is for females. Each barrack has over a dozen bunk beds for trainers to sleep in. These is a storage area filled with lockers and well as a large bathroom for public use. At the end of the barracks are small laundry rooms which you may use freely to clean your clothes. All trainers may use the barracks at no charge. However, we have a limited supply of beds and storage room for each trainer. Luckily, there are only a small number of trainers staying here so we did not have to boot anyone out to make room for you four."

Annabelle turned to look at us. "This will be your home for the foreseeable future. Tomorrow you all have the day to yourselves to become acclimated to the district. The next five days are for you to prepare yourselves for your Ordeals to become official trainers. Work hard to pass your Ordeals. Once you become official trainers you will be eligible to take missions to earn some income for yourselves." She paused. "Take this advice from someone who has been in your shoes. Start taking missions as soon as possible and find a room to rent in one of the residential buildings. The Center barracks are well kept but there is absolutely no privacy here. Most of the rooms for rent are cheap enough for you to afford with the pay of a single low level mission. It's a small price to pay for some privacy."

She moved behind the desk and picked up four small packs. There were three blue packs and one pink pack. "These have some basic supplies for you. A few clothes and some toiletries to get you started. You may contact your families and have them send over some items from your old homes if you wish." She handed us each a pack and said, "today has been a long day for you. I know you must all be tired or hungry by now. I'll let you go get settled in. If any of you want to eat then stay here. The rest of you may enter the barracks and get some rest."

Ginnette and Phillip immediately left the group and entered their respective barracks. Hugo and I chose to remain with Annabelle. "Well," she said. "Let's get some food in you boys." She led us back into the cafeteria and motioned us to sit at a table. "I will be right back," she said as she entered the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with two trays and set them down in front of us. "Once you finish eating, drop the trays off in the kitchen and leave the cafeteria. I'll lock up afterwards." Annabelle then left Hugo and I to our meals and returned to the front desk.

Hugo immediately dug into the meal once we were alone. I looked at the food on the tray. There was a sandwich, fruit cup, and carton of milk.

"Not a very filling meal," I thought. "We're supposed to live on just one of these meals a day until we can afford more food?"

I began slowly eating the food on my tray. After a moment I finally broke the silence between us. "Hugo right?" I asked.

"Yep," he replied without looking up.

"My name is Jacob," I said.

"I know," he said as he finished his meal.

I just looked at him for a moment before speaking again. "If you don't mind me asking, why did volunteer for this? Not many people actually want to become Pokemon trainers."

He finally turned to look at me. "It's better then the alternative."

"What do you mean?'"

He slouched down in his chair and stared at the table for a moment before looking at me again. He gestured to himself. "Look at me. What did you think of me when you saw me today in the courtyard? Lower class right? Most likely from District Nine? Am I right?"

"You're right," I admitted.

"Well, anyone who thought that after seeing me today would be correct. I do live in District Nine. Or I did until today anyway," he corrected himself. "My mom, two sisters and I lived in a small one bedroom apartment in the cheapest residential building in the district. It was all we could afford on her income."

He gestured to me. "Based on your clothes and how you carry yourself I would guess you were middle class. You old home was in District Six right?"

"Right," I said.

He nodded. "You probably looked down at your tray and your first thought was about how unappetizing or unfilling it looked. You're used to three square meals a day and snacks throughout the day if you get hungry."

I said nothing. There was nothing to say, he had me pegged dead to rights

He gestured to our trays. "This meal was on par with or even better that anything my mom could put together each day. We normally ate only once a day. Twice a day if my mom came into a little extra income. There were some days that we didn't eat at all. For my family, life is a constant struggle for survival."

He sat back and contemplated the ceiling. "It wasn't always like that for my family. I was actually born in District Four. My father was a team leader for one Asidia's mining companies. Three times a week a team of Pokemon trainers would escort my father and his crew to one of the northern mines to mine the ores and gems that cannot be produced within the city state. The trainers took care of any wild Pokemon they came across and watched over the miners while they worked. My father supervised all the work done. Because the work was outside the walls, the mining company paid very well due to the high risk. As a team leader, my father brought in enough income to maintain our position in the upper middle class, even with my mom not working."

He looked down at the table again. "All of that changed when I was nine years old. One day my father and his crew set out to the caves they were currently mining from, not realizing that a large group of wild Pokemon had settled in the caves since the last time the crew had been out there. They were attacked soon after entering the caves."

"I remember that," I said. "A large group of Aron and Lairon led by a mated pair of Aggron attacked some miners that entered their territory six years ago. The hired trainers did their best to drive off the wild Pokemon but their trained Pokemon were greatly outnumbered. In the end, the best they could do was try to hold back the wild Pokemon and give the miners a chance to escape and retreat to the city state. Most of the crew and trainers didn't make it."

"My father was one of the casualties," he said. "He always took his responsibility as team leader seriously. One survivor told my mother that my father was brought down by an Aggron as he was trying to help an injured miner get back to the city. He died a hero."

He looked at me with anger in his eyes. "He may have died a so called hero, but that did nothing for my family. Because my mother did not work, we did not have too much savings as my father supported us on just his income. Those savings quickly ran out and we began to fall into debt. The only job my mom was able to find was as a street cleaner, working every night to keep the streets that I grew up in clean. She had no choice but to sell off almost everything we owned to pay off the debts and took what little was left and moved us to district nine."

He paused for a moment. "Even after all that happened, do you know what upset me the most at the time was? Even more than actually losing my father?"

"What?" I asked.

"A week after the massacre in the mines, the company my father worked for hired elite Pokemon trainers to clear out the mines of the wild Pokemon. The day after that, they sent another crew to begin mining where my father's crew left off. Never mind the fact that a week ago my father and most of his crew was killed because the company sent them to that mine without sending some trainers to inspect it first and, if necessary, clear out any wild Pokemon. They only cared about restarting the mining operations."

"I'm sorry," I said.

He turned to glare at me. "Why are you apologizing to me. None of what happened was your fault. My father and his crew knew the risks that came with going outside the walls. If anyone should apologize it should be the mining company. If they had just done their job right, my father might still be alive today. It was not your fault!"

We both stayed silent for several minutes after that last outburst. Finally I asked him, "after everything you just told me, why would you choose to become a Pokemon trainer? Given how your father died, I would have imagined that you would want to stay far away from any Pokemon as possible."

"You're right," he said after a few seconds. "My first four Selection Days, all I could thing about was my father and what happened to him six years ago. I was terrified of being chosen and being forced to work with those monsters."

"What changed today?" I asked.

"At first, I was as terrified today as I was the other times. All I could think about was that I just had to make it through the day and then I could get on with my life. But as I listened to the governor's speech a thought occurred to me."

"What thought?"

"I thought to myself, 'could being a Pokemon trainer be any worse that the life I have now?' I'm just a low class teen with little prospects. It's easy drop to a lower class but much harder to rise up to a higher one. I didn't have much to look forward to. At least as a trainer I could earn a decent income. Hell, if I can make it to one of the higher ranks, the pay for just one mission at that rank could equal or exceed what my mother makes in a week. I would only have to complete two or three missions a week to live comfortably. I could even send money to my mother to help support my sisters."

He sat up in his chair. "All of these thoughts ran through my head as the governor finished her speech. When the Gym Leader asked for volunteers, I only hesitated for a moment. You know what happened next."

I nodded to myself. "That's some story. After everything you just told me, I think that I would have done the same think if I had been in your shoes."

"I'm sure you would have," he said. "If for no other reason that to try to help support your family. I saw what you did today. Volunteering in your brother's place, that just shows how much your family means to you. That took some guts."

"I couldn't let Bobby go through this," I said. "He wouldn't survive his Ordeal."

"Maybe, maybe not." he responded. "We'll probably never know now."

He stood up. "Well, I'm beat. Been a long day for both of us. I'm going to go find an empty bed and get some sleep. You should do the same."

"I will," I said. "I just want to sit by myself for a bit."

"Alright," he said. "I'll leave you alone. See you tomorrow. Night."

"Goodnight," I responded.

He left me alone in the cafeteria. I just sat there for a while thinking about everything Hugo said and everything that happened today. This is my new life. I can no longer dwell on the past. Time to carve myself a new future.

Eventually I got up and took my tray to the kitchen. I left the cafeteria, turning off the lights on my way out. I decided to follow Hugo's advice and get some sleep. Tomorrow was a new day.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Training Week

We had the day after Selection Day to ourselves. We were told to explore the trainer district and become acclimated with it. Ginnette and Phillip both chose to remain in the Pokemon Center barracks. They only left the barracks once to eat their free meal before returning to their beds. I waited for the computer room to be empty before using one computer to place a call to my parents. My mother answered the call. She broke down crying as soon as she saw my face on the screen. After a few minutes I was able to calm her down.

"Jacob," she said. "I'm so proud of you for what you did for your brother."

"I did what I had to do," I said. "How's Bobby handling it?"

"Not well. You father took him to the park to try to get his mind off of it. He's upset that you had to volunteer in his place. He's worried that you wont survive your Ordeal and he wont see you again," she said.

"I'll survive," I said. "I have to."

"Is there anything that we can do for you?" she asked. "Do you need us to send you some money or clothes or anything else you need?"

I was tempted to say yes for a moment. Then I thought about Hugo and everything we talked about last night. "No," I finally said. "I have to do this on my own. From now on, you and dad just have to worry about Bobby. I'll be fine. I'll get through my Ordeal. Then, once I'm officially a trainer I'll be able to take missions to support myself." I paused for a moment. "Would it be alright for me to visit you guys once in a while?"

"Of course!" she said immediately. "Even if you do become an official trainer, you're still our son. Your father feels the same way."

I was filled with relief. Stories have always been told about families who disowned their children after being chosen on Selection Day. Even if they don't disown them, most families would prefer that their trainer children stay away from them. Thank the Legendaries that I still had my family.

"Thanks mom," I told her. "You took a load off my mind. I should go now. I'm supposed to wander the district and get a feel for everything here."

"Alright," she said. "Good luck Jacob. No matter what happens, always remember that we love you."

"I love you too. Tell dad and Bobby that I love them. Bye mom."

"Goodbye," she said. "Take care of yourself." She ended the call at her end. I stared at the screen for a moment before getting up. It was time to explore my new home.

I wandered around the buildings in the district for a while to see if I missed anything yesterday. So far I haven't spotted anything new. The Gym and magnet train station stood at either end of the group of buildings. Near the station stood the Center. In between those buildings were a handful of residential buildings. No shops, no food stores or clothing stores.

"I guess what we can't get from the Center we'll have to go to one of the other districts to purchase," I thought. "Good thing the magnet train is free for trainer use. I'll get tired of the Center meals quickly."

I decided to get a better look at the training grounds. They were obviously man-made sectioned environments simulating the wilds. Some of the grounds were large and could be used by several trainers. Others were small and meant for single trainer use. The were areas which simulated grasslands, marshlands, lakes, forests, rocky fields, hills, mountains and even a couple of desert fields. I stayed away from the fields that had trainers working with their Pokemon. After a while of wandering I came across Hugo in one of the larger training grounds that had a man-made lake going through it. He was staring out at the water.

"Hey," I said.

He turned to look at me. "Hey. Have you taken a look at all of the different fields they have here? The only thing missing is a saltwater beach to simulate the ocean."

"That makes sense." I said. "Asidia is not near any beaches. It would be a waste of resources to maintain such a field."

"I guess so. How are you doing today?" he asked. "Any regrets about what happened yesterday?"

"No, no regrets," I answered. "I know that I did the right thing." I paused. "I spoke to my mother this morning."

"And?" he asked, focusing on me.

"My mom was understandably upset but proud of me for looking after my brother. She said I was welcome to visit them after I become an official trainer."

"You're lucky," he said. "I overheard some trainers talking in the Center this morning. Apparently Phillip and Ginnette received messages early this morning. Their parents informed them that they were being disowned. They would get no support from their families."

"No wonder they're both still hiding in the barracks. Yesterday their whole world changed and today they find out that their families have turned their backs on them." I thought about their situation for a moment. "That must be why they give us the first day to ourselves. To deal with any fallout that comes with being chosen."

"I didn't think about that," he said. "You're probably right. Still, I feel sorry for those two, especially Ginnette."

"Why Ginnette?" I asked.

He looked at me like I was stupid. "Come on. It's obvious she was born to the upper class. Yesterday she had everything and today she has nothing. That's a huge blow to her pride and self-esteem. I can't see her recovering from this."

"She may surprise you."

"I doubt it. We'll just have to wait and see, wont we?"

"I guess we will," I said. After a moment asked him, "have you heard from your mother yet?"

"Not yet," he said. "She's probably still in shock that I actually volunteered for this. I'll wait until after my Ordeal and explain my reasons to her. I'm sure that once I explain that I did this to benefit the family she'll get over it."

"If you're sure," I said doubtfully.

"I am," he responded. He looked around. "Come one. There're still a lot of fields I haven't explored. I want to get through most of them today before I head back for our meal."

"Lead the way," I said as I followed him.

The next morning the four of us were woken up and taken to the computer room. The room was empty except for an old trainer waiting patiently.

"Take a seat," he said.

We all sat down at a different computer station and looked at him. The old trainer passed out small notebooks and pens to each of us.

"My name is Maxwell Dean. I am a B-rank Pokemon trainer born and raised here in Asidia," he said. "Yesterday you all had the day to yourselves to get used to the idea of being Pokemon trainers. Today is the day that you officially begin your training week. Over the next five days we will help prepare you for your new futures as Pokemon trainers. On the sixth day is when you will have to take your Ordeals. You will have to pass these Ordeals in order to become official Pokemon trainers. Take any notes you feel are important and don't be afraid to ask questions."

He paused. "First, I'll begin with the topic that I'm sure you all have stuck in your minds, your Ordeals. After the Cataclysm, when the League and city states decided to institute the Selection Day policy, the chosen trainers were given starter Pokemon as the new trainers were given on Pre-Cataclysm trainer days. Unfortunately, the League did not take into account the viciousness that even small and weak Pokemon now exhibited as a result of the Cataclysm. Even the supposedly tamed starter Pokemon could turn on their inexperienced trainers if they felt that the trainer was weak. The Ordeals came about as a result of this."

He paused to stare at each of us. "After much deliberation, the League instituted a new policy in regards to prospective Pokemon trainers. Instead of being given a starter Pokemon, the prospective trainers would have to go out into the wilds, without an escort, and attempt to catch a wild Pokemon. They would then have to tame this Pokemon themselves. That Pokemon would then be their official starter."

Phillip spoke up at this point. "Why would they do that?" he asked. "Wouldn't it be better to just give prospective trainers a starter and help them tame it? The odds of surviving in the wilds and catching a wild Pokemon without help are extremely slim."

"And that is why the League felt that the Ordeal was the best course of action to take." he replied. "They felt that the Ordeal would prove to them and the new trainers that they could handle the dangers of taking missions. As a Pokemon trainer, you may have to take missions that require you to leave the city state and go beyond the walls. While you may team up with other trainers in order to complete missions, this would require you to split the pay with any other trainers you team up with. Unless the mission is very high risk, most high rank trainers choose to solo their missions and claim all the money for themselves."

"As for why they couldn't help the new trainers tame their starters," he continued. "The League understood that the Pokemon would not respect and listen to their trainers if they needed help from more experienced trainers. This would increase the likelihood of the Pokemon turning on their trainers and attacking them. They felt that the trainers themselves had to struggle through the taming process in order to become real Pokemon trainers."

"And that is how the Ordeal came to be," he said. "While the civilians all felt that the League should go back to the old methods of Pokemon training, the League new that these methods were needed in order to prepare new trainers for their new risky lives." He paused. "Make no mistake. The Ordeal is no walk in the park. Every year we send out a group of prospective trainers out into the wilds. There have been very few years that all the prospective trainers made it back to the city state alive. Some years none of them made it back at all."

We all paled after hearing this. Phillip looked like he was about to pass out. Ginnette looked like she was about to break down again. Ginnette finally spoke up.

"What happens if we return to the city state without a captured Pokemon?" she asks.

"Those of you who fail your Ordeal but make it back to the city state alive will be sent out the next day to try again. You will continue to go out every day until you return with a Pokemon or don't return at all," he said grimly. The room descended into chilling silence as he let that sit in.

"You must all work hard the next five days to prepare for your Ordeals," he continued. "I would really hate to be the one to tell your families that their children were most likely eaten by Pokemon in the wilds."

Maxwell continued to lecture us for a few hours. He spoke about trainer basics and what we needed to know about common items that trainers used. He explained how use Pokemon medicine such as potions and antidotes. Finally, he went over the most important item used by Pokemon trainers, the pokeball.

"This is a pokeball," he said after he pulled one out of his pocket. "This device is used by all trainers to capture and store their Pokemon. While inside the pokeballs, Pokemon are put into a state of suspended animation where they can rest and even slowly heal from any injuries they acquire. Keep in mind that the pokeball's healing process is extremely slow. The devices next to the computers in front of you greatly speed up that healing process so your Pokemon can recover from even life threatening injuries within minutes."

"You should all note that while the pokeball provides rest and heals you Pokemon, it cannot provide sustenance. Once a day you should let the Pokemon out of the pokeball and provide them food. Any Pokemon that you may have in the computer storage system should be taken out at least once a week for the same purpose." He dropped the pokeball in front of him and released the Pokemon inside. As the Pokemon began to materialize, we jumped up and moved to the other side of the room.

"Graveler," the Pokemon grunted. The Pokemon looked like a large boulder with a face carved out in front. It had two legs and four arms sticking out of it's body.

"Sit down," Maxwell said. "He won't attack you. Unless I order him to," he added as we slowly sat back down in front of him.

This was the first time I have seen a Pokemon up close. My heart was beating at a rapid pace as I stared at the Graveler. I could see Hugo staring at the Pokemon with an odd look on his face. Phillip and Ginnette both looked ready to pass out any second now.

"This is my Graveler, Granite," Maxwell said. "He was the Pokemon that I caught on my Ordeal. Of course, back then he was just a small Geodude. Geodude is a dual Ground and Rock type Pokemon commonly found in the caves and on the mountains just north of the city state." He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a fist-sized rock. He handed the rock the the Pokemon who proceeded to eat it.

"As I mentioned before, you should release your Pokemon at least once a day to give them food. This is very important as even tame Pokemon you have had for a while may turn on you if they get hungry enough." The Graveler finished his meal and turned to look at his trainer. When he saw that no more food was coming he sat down and just stared at us.

"The Pokemart sells dry Pokemon food for different varieties of Pokemon. If you can't afford to get some food or if you have Pokemon that refuse to eat the dry Pokemon food, you will have to take your Pokemon outside the walls were they can hunt or forage for their food. Luckily for us, trainers may come and go from the city state at will. At our own risk of course," he said.

"Other that releasing your Pokemon to feed," he said, "you obviously have to release your Pokemon while you are training them. If you don't work on training your Pokemon at least once a week, it wont grow stronger. If it doesn't grow stronger, it wont be able to use strong attacks and will not eventually evolve. You should also consider releasing your Pokemon once in a while so it can relax outside of its pokeball. This may help your Pokemon become more loyal to you. Keep all this in mind."

"The last two items I would like to cover are trainer ranks and missions," he said. "While none of you are technically civilians anymore, neither are you considered official Pokemon trainers until you pass your Ordeal. As such, you possess no trainer ranks. Once you return from your Ordeals with a captured Pokemon you will officially become E-rank trainers. There are six trainer ranks. The low ranks are the E-rank and D-rank trainers. The middle ranks are the C-rank and B-rank trainers. Finally we have the higher ranks, the A-rank and S-rank trainers. The A-rank trainers are more commonly known as elite trainers. The S-rank trainers are the Pokemon Masters. All Gym Leaders and high ranking League officials are either elite or master trainers. While some trainers get stuck in the lower ranks, most make it to the middle ranks and go no further."

"How many Pokemon a trainer is allowed to own depends on their rank," he said. "E-rank trainers may own a maximum of two Pokemon. One of these Pokemon you may keep with you at all times, however, the second Pokemon must remain in the computer storage system. This is to ensure that trainers never have more Pokemon than they can handle on them at a time. As you go up in rank, the number of Pokemon you may own goes up by two. With each additional rank, trainers may keep one more Pokemon on their person then they could at the previous rank. So a D-rank trainer may have a maximum of four Pokemon but may only have two Pokemon with them at any given time. The pokeballs themselves keep track of this system. If you are a D-rank trainer and you capture a third Pokemon, that pokeball will remain sealed shut. You will not be able to release the Pokemon within until you store one of your other Pokemon in the storage system."

"Trainers are allowed to take any missions that are their rank or one rank lower. A trainer may only go out on a mission one rank higher if they are teamed up with a trainer of the appropriate rank. Missions are classed as either D, C, B, A or S rank based on the mission difficulty," he continued.

I interrupted at this point. "If there are no E-rank missions," I said, "how are we supposed to sign up for missions once we pass our Ordeals and reach E-rank?"

"You don't," he responded. "E-rank trainers are not allowed on missions, even if they are accompanied by a higher ranking trainer. Before you may begin taking missions, you must each earn a promotion into the D-rank." He let that sit in for a moment. "Fortunately for you, it's is relatively easy to be promoted into D-rank. In order to reach D-rank, you must each prove to the Gym Leader that the Pokemon you caught will obey your commands and attack on command. In other words, you must first tame your Pokemon and prove it will protect you out in the wilds. Once you have proven that, the Gym Leader will promote you to D-rank and you may start taking D-rank missions."

"E-rank is the proving grounds for all rookie trainers. It's where you show us whether you can become real Pokemon trainers or become wash-outs who must try to survive on whatever scraps we throw your way. Trainers may only retire from taking missions after being active for 20 years. After that, you may apply for a position here in the trainer district or in the mission office in central district. Unfortunately for you, once chosen on Selection Day, you may never apply for a civilian position. With all of that in mind, I hope you all understand the importance of being able to successfully tame your first Pokemon. If, for any reason, you can't tame your first Pokemon, you may request to retake your Ordeal. Your first Pokemon will then either be put down or put to work if it can be of use to the city state." He looked around at us. "I hope you will succeed in taming your first Pokemon. It would be a damn shame if you made it back from your first Ordeal only to not return from the second."

He looked at the clock on the wall. "Let's end this lecture right here. I'll be available to you all up until your Ordeals if you have any questions. Most other trainers in the district will also offer advice if asked. Over the next few days, you should make good use of the Pokedex app on these computers. Familiarize yourselves with all of the Pokemon that are commonly found around Asidia. Also look up which of these Pokemon are easier to catch then others and where they are most likely to be found. As a general rule, evolved Pokemon cannot be caught without weakening first so you should avoid these Pokemon on your Ordeals. Your target Pokemon should be small and young unevolved Pokemon that can't put up much fight when they are sucked into the pokeball."

He wished us luck and left the room. This time Phillip and Ginnette did not go straight to the barracks upon being dismissed. They opened the Pokedex app on their computers and began looking up information on Pokemon. Hugo and I looked at each other for a moment before following their example.

Only five days to prepare to enter the wilds for our Ordeals. It was time for us to get to work.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Ordeal

The remaining days leading up to our Ordeals passed by quickly. The four of us could mostly be found in the Center computer room reading every bit of information we could find about the Pokemon around Asidia. Maxwell came to the Center every day to give us more lectures and advice. When we were not in the Center we could be found talking to some of the older trainers in the district. Some of the trainers readily answered any questions we asked of them. Others did not bother to hide their annoyance at us for interrupting them.

One of the middle ranked trainers advised us to study a trainer map of Asidia and the wilds surrounding the city state. We all followed that advice and acquired a map from the Center's front office. On studying the map we found that the city state had four gates leading out at roughly all four major cardinal points. The eastern and southern gates both opened to grasslands. The western gate leads to a dense forest. Finally, the northern gate leads the way to the mountain range where Asidia mines for ore and precious stones. The map also showed what Pokemon a trainer is most likely to encounter in all four directions. Based on the map, the forest would be the most dangerous area to enter, followed by the mountains then the grasslands. This left us wondering which gate we would be forced to leave on our Ordeals from. Given the choice, I assumed we would all choose to take our Ordeals in the grasslands.

The day of the Ordeal finally came. We were woken up early and taken to the cafeteria. We were told to eat quickly then head out to the station when we were ready. Hugo and I dug into our food right away. Phillip and Ginnette just stared at their food for a while. Eventually Ginnette stood up without having touched her food and informed the rest of us that she would be heading to the station. Phillip followed her moments later. Hugo wasted no time and took Ginnette's tray and proceeded to eat her food. He offered Phillip's tray to me. I took it after a moment. An idea had occurred to me over the past four days. There was a way that I might be able to catch a Pokemon today with minimal risk. I needed some food to implement my idea. Phillip's sandwich would be just what I needed. I stuffed the sandwich in my pocket and finished off the rest of the food.

Once Hugo and I were done we both dropped the trays off and headed for the station. There we found Phillip, Ginnette, Gym Leader Muliere, and some other trainers waiting for us. One trainer held a small box in her hands. Behind the Leader was a small table with four backpacks on top. Muliere began speaking as soon as we reached them.

"Now that you're all here we can begin your Ordeals," he said. He gestured to the table behind him. "These backpacks behind me each possess several items that you can use on your Ordeals. The backpacks all possess the same items so there is no reason to fight over any of them. I will give you 30 minutes to go through the packs and familiarize yourselves with what they contain. Begin now."

We each grabbed one pack and began going through them. The bags contained some travel rations and water. There was a hunting knife and some rope. There was a small bottle of Repel spray. There was also a small case that held ten small bottles. Five of the bottles contained basic Potion. The other five bottles contained different liquids. There was one each of Antidote, Paralyze Heal, Awakening, Burn Heal, and Ice Heal. Each bottle held about three doses of the liquids. While these medicines are meant to be used on Pokemon, they can be used on humans as well.

After 30 minutes, Muliere began speaking again. "It's time to head to the gates that you will be leaving the city state from. Since there are four of you this year, I've decided that you each will leave from a separate gate. I will let you decide which gate you will leave from yourselves. You may decided based on the order that you were chosen on Selection Day." He turned to look at Hugo. "Choose your gate."

Hugo hesitated for only a moment. "I pick the north gate," he said, surprising us all. We all looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Why the north gate?" I asked myself. "The grasslands are less dangerous than the mountains." I studied him for a moment and noticed a determined glint in his eyes. "Unless, this has something to do with his father."

Muliere nodded to Hugo. "Very well. North gate it is." He turned to Philip. "Your turn. Choose your gate."

"Eastern gate," Phillip said quickly. Not surprising at all. That left the southern gate which led to more grasslands and the western gate which led to the dense forest.

Muliere turned to Ginnette next. She spoke up without prompting. "I'll take the southern gate," she said quickly.

Muliere nodded to her. "Very well," he said. He then turned to me. "That leaves you to take the western gate."

Fear began to fill me before I squashed it down. "Keep it together," I thought. "Just stick to the plan and you'll be fine."

Muliere continued. "In a moment you will all board the magnet train where you will be escorted to your respective gates by one of these trainers. Once you reach the gates, you will head out on your own to attempt to catch your first Pokemon." He motioned for the trainer holding the box to move forward. "Inside this box are 12 pokeballs. You will each take three of the pokeballs from inside." The trainer moved to each of us and allowed us to take our allotted pokeballs.

"You will use these three pokeballs to attempt to catch your first Pokemon. Keep in mind that these pokeballs are unregistered to any trainers. If you successfully catch a Pokemon you will be unable to release that Pokemon until it is registered to you. Once you capture a Pokemon you must return to the city state. At that point you will have completed your Ordeal."

"Why did you give us three pokeballs if we're only supposed to capture one Pokemon?" Phillip asked the Gym Leader.

"Two reasons," Muliere responded. "One, Pokemon are much more intelligent then you may believe. If you attempt and fail to catch a Pokemon it will immediately understand that the pokeball is the bigger threat at the moment. It will act quickly to destroy the pokeball before it launches its attack on you. You will have only seconds to throw another pokeball and attempt to catch it again or make a quick retreat and try a different Pokemon."

"The second reason has to do with how many Pokemon a E-rank trainer is allowed to own," he said. "As you know, once you pass your Ordeal and reach E-rank, you will be able to own a maximum to two Pokemon. If you do catch a Pokemon and still have one or two pokeballs left over, you may make an attempt to catch a second Pokemon to fill the maximum allowed. If, by some miracle, you manage to catch three Pokemon, you may select which two Pokemon you can keep. We will deal with the third Pokemon after that." He paused. "Take my advice. Once you catch a Pokemon, forget about catching any more. Quit while you're ahead. Remember, if you run into something you cannot handle, you don't have any trainers or usable Pokemon to defend you."

"Any other questions?" he asked. We all shook our heads. "Then lets get this show on the road."

After Muliere dismissed us we boarded the magnet train along with our trainer escorts. We waited quietly as one by one we reached each of the stations near the different gates and waited for one of the other prospective trainers to disembark. I was the last one to reach my destination. By this point I was filled with nerves. We finally reached my station and my escort and I disembarked. We had to walk a short distance to reach the western gate. Once we reached the gate the trainer turned to me.

"From this point on you're on your own," he said. He motioned to one trainer guarding the gate. The other trainer nodded and opened the gate. The gate opened onto a short dirt road which led directly to the forest. "Be vigilant out there and keep a pokeball ready. Try not to get lost in there. Once you catch a Pokemon you should immediately try to make it back here. I'll be waiting for you here at the gate." He paused and looked at me. "If you haven't made it back by sundown I'll assume that you've been eaten by a Pokemon and return to the trainer district without you. Good luck."

"Gee, thanks for the peptalk asshole," I thought sourly. I took a moment to stare out towards the forest before taking a deep breath and moving forward. The gate closed behind me as I cleared the archway. I kept moving forward while keeping an eye out for any Pokemon that may be out here. It did not take me long to reach the tree line. I hesitated for a moment before entering the forest.

The dirt road kept going on through the forest. It was very dense. Very little sunlight was making it through the trees. I moved forward slowly and silently while trying to keep an eye all around me. There were many times when I thought I saw some movement at the corner of my eye but saw nothing there when I turned to look. I reached into my backpack and took out the can of Repel. The silence was beginning to get to me.

"Keep it together," I thought. "If you panic in here you are as good as dead. Think for a moment. This forest is filled with Bug and Grass type Pokemon. Watch out for any plants that move or any silk webs. There are known to be a few Beedrill hives in this forest so try to listen for the sound of buzzing. If you see any Weedle don't even attempt to catch it, just turn around and leave the area quickly. Weedle never stray far from their hives. If any Pokemon surprises you and attacks just stay calm. Point the can of repel at it quickly and spray it in the face. The bad smell should chase it off."

Suddenly I heard a crashing noise from my left. I spun to look towards the noise and spotted a large cat running straight for me. "Persian," I thought quickly, fighting down the instinctive desire to turn around and run. Instead, I held my ground and readied the can of Repel. Time seemed to move in slow motion. Just before the Persian reached me, I raised the can of Repel and aimed at its face. As it was crouching down to pounce at me, I released a spray at it. The spray hit its face as it leaped and it veered off, just missing me by inches. The Persian let out a painful yowl as it landed and immediately began scratching at its face. When that didn't help it began rubbing its face in the dirt. I decided to take no chances. I approached it quickly and released another spray towards its face. At that point the Persian broke, taking off quickly in the direction from which it came.

Once I could no longer see the Persian I fell to my knees and began taking in deep breaths. I took out the water ration from my backpack and began taking careful sips. After a moment my hands finally stopped shaking. "Too close," I thought. "That was way too close. I need to catch a Pokemon quickly and get out of this place. Once night comes I wont be able to see a thing. I'll have to head back to the city state before sundown whether I've caught a Pokemon or not. I can always try again tomorrow."

I got up and continued on my way. I had another close call as I was moving through the forest. At one point a Joltik I didn't see sprayed some String Shot at me as I walked by its nest. Fortunately it just missed me. I barely managed to dodge the second String Shot and the Thunder Wave that followed. Once I got close enough I sprayed it with the Repel. It immediately dropped to the ground and started twitching. I looked at it for a moment and considered attempting to catch it. Just as I was making up my mind the Joltik jumped back onto its tree and ran up into its nest. I looked up and contemplated the nest for a moment before deciding not to try for it. I continued walking.

After the Joltik incident I began paying more attention to the trees. As I was walking I spotted a Noctowl sleeping in one tree. I stopped and stared at it for a moment before moving on. "Even if it is sleeping," I thought, "it's still an evolved Pokemon. I doubt the basic pokeballs I have would be strong enough to catch it without it being weakened."

I walked on for about another hour before I started to think about turning around and heading back to Asidia. Just before I made up my mind I saw the road up ahead opening to a small clearing. I became more and more excited as I entered the clearing. "This could work," I thought excitedly. "I can try my plan here. I'll give it one more hour before I start heading back. If they make me retake my Ordeal in this forest again I'll just come to this clearing to try my plan again."

I quickly began implement my plan. I made my way to one side of the clearing. I took out a pokeball, the sandwich from this morning and the knife from the backpack. I quickly used the knife to dig up a small hole in the ground. Carefully, I place the pokeball in the hole with part of the sandwich right next to it. I covered them both up with dirt, making sure to leave part of the piece of sandwich sticking out of the dirt. This way, if a Pokemon caught the scent of the sandwich and came to get it, it would have to dig up the rest of the sandwich and hopefully touch the pokeball.

Once I had my trap set I moved to the other side of the clearing. I examined the trees at the edge for a moment before picking one. As I walked up to the tree I carefully looked up at the tree, making sure to check every branch I could see. I did the same to the trees closest to it. When I didn't spot any Pokemon I began to carefully climb the branches. I kept climbing until I reached a branch I could sit on that would give me a clear view at my trap. I sat down and pulled the Repel out of the pack again. Now it was time to wait.

I did not have to wait for long. After about 15 minutes of waiting I saw movement on one tree near my trap. A white monkey-like Pokemon with a pig snout jumped from the tree. "Mankey," I quickly identified. "Fighting type. Very quick to anger."

I watched as the Mankey moved towards the trap while sniffing the air. It sniffed at the sandwich once it reached it. I tensed up as I saw it reaching for the sandwich.

PING!

As soon as I heard the sound I saw dirt fly up as the pokeball in the hole opened. The startled Mankey transformed into red light and was sucked up into the ball. Once the ball closed it began shaking vigorously. I held my breath as I watched the ball shake. After a few seconds I heard a crack and the pokeball opened, releasing the Mankey from inside.

"Oh shit," I thought as the Mankey became enraged as soon as it was released. It grabbed the nearest big rock it could see and brought the rock down on the pokeball. It kept this up until the pokeball was nothing more that a few scraps of metal. It then threw the rock and began looking around the clearing. "Double shit," I thought as it spotted me in the tree.

The Mankey gave an enraged cry and ran towards my tree. I did not have time to get down from the tree to face it on solid ground. I carefully stood crouched on the branch and readied the Repel as the Mankey reached the tree. It jumped to the lowest branch and quickly made its way towards me. Just as it reached the branch under mine I released a spray down at its face. The Mankey squealed and immediately fell from the tree. It hit the ground hard and began to roll around. Just as I was about to quickly climb down to spray it again, it jumped and ran, it's highly sensitive nose causing it to break from its rage and forcing it to run from the source to the bad smell.

I stood still for a moment to calm my fast beating heart. Then I raised the Repel can and shook it. "Almost empty," I thought, "and that Mankey destroyed one of my pokeballs. Only two more left." I thought about my situation for a moment before climbing back down. "One more shot," I thought. "I'll give it just one more shot before calling it. I've come too far to just give up now."

I quickly reset my trap then climbed back up into my tree to wait again. I waited patiently in the tree for the next Pokemon to fall for my trap. After about 20 minutes I saw movement in the bushes on the other side of the clearing. Two small grey and black canine Pokemon jumped out of the bushes, sniffing the air. It took me a moment to identify them.

"Poochyena," I thought. I began to panic a little inside. "Poochyena are Dark type Pokemon that always live in large packs. All Poochyena packs are led by one or more Myghtyena. There's no way I'll be able to fight off a whole pack without a Pokemon of my own!" After a few moments of panic I forced myself to calm down and assess the situation. "There are only two of them. Both look to be a bit smaller that what the Pokedex app said their average height was. I haven't seen any more in the tree line and they haven't howled to bring the rest of the pack to their location. This is not a hunting group!" I thought. "It's a scouting group! These must be omegas that were sent out to find where their prey may be settling. Once they've spotted the prey's territory, they are supposed to return to the pack and lead a hunting group back."

All these thoughts flashed through my head as I saw both Pokemon following their noses to the sandwich in my trap. One of the Poochyena stopped suddenly and went on alert. "Damn," I thought. "It must have caught my scent." The other one kept going towards the sandwich, not paying attention when the first one barked at it to stop. It reached my trap and began digging up the sandwich.

PING!

Just like with the Mankey, the Poochyena was sucked up into the hidden pokeball. Once it closed it immediately began shaking as the Pokemon tried to fight its way out. The other Poochyena began barking wildly and pawing at the pokeball. After a few seconds I heard a click and saw that the pokeball had stopped shaking.

"I did it," I thought in disbelief. "I did it. I caught a Pokemon."

The wild Poochyena continued barking and pawing at the pokeball. I quickly climbed down from the tree and moved carefully forwards before it decided to try to destroy the pokeball. The Poochyena quickly spotted me and let off a vicious growl. It started running at me.

"Well," I thought. "This worked with the Persian and the Mankey." I readied the can of Repel before it reached me. Just as it started to leap to Bite me, I sprayed the last of the Repel towards its face. The Poochyena yelped and fell to the ground. It rolled around for a moment before getting up and running off.

Once I could no longer see the Poochyena I turned and walked to the pokeball. I picked up the ball and stared at it for a few moments. "I can't believe it," I thought. "I actually did it." Eventually I put the ball away in my pocket before I began to gather my things. "I haven't passed my Ordeal yet," I thought. "I still have to make it safely back to the city state. I have to move fast. That Poochyena might come back here with a hunting party to finish me off."

I got back on the road and began to make my way quickly but carefully back to Asidia. The journey back felt much longer. The sky was begging to darken. I began jumping at any moving shadow that I saw. All I could think about was some wild Pokemon getting the jump on me as I made my way back. I also worried that the Poochyena pack would follow my scent and take me down before I reached the gate.

Despite all my thoughts, there was no further incident going back. I kept walking for what felt like many hours until suddenly I exited the forest tree line. I stared at the walls of Asidia for a moment before I began running the rest of the way to the gate. I reached the gate and banged on it with my fist. "Open the gate!" I yelled.

I spotted someone looking down at me from the top of the gate before he signaled to someone on the other side. The gate began to open. As soon as the opening was big enough I slipped through and fell to my knees on the other side. The gate closed up behind me. I looked up as I saw someone walking up to me. It was the trainer that escorted me here this morning.

"Welcome back," he said sourly. "I lost 40 Asidia dollars because of you. I had my money on you not making it back at all."

I just starred at him.

He grunted at me. "Well?" he asked.

It took me a moment to realize what he wanted. Once I got it I took out the warm pokeball from my pocket and handed it to him. He examined the pokeball, studying the button which was blue instead of white or red, showing that while the ball contained a Pokemon, it was currently unusable since it was not registered to a trainer. He grunted again.

"Congratulation," he said. "You pass. You're the third one to make it back to the city state."

I finally spoke up. "Who else made it back?" I asked.

"Your scrawny friend and that annoying girl both made it back alive. The girl was bloodied up a bit but otherwise fine. Your friend had a broken arm and plenty of bruises but will make a speedy recovery thanks to the wonders of modern medicine."

"What about Phillip?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Last I checked the trainers guarding the eastern gate haven't seen him yet." He looked up at the darkened sky. "I think its safe to say that we wont be seeing him again. He's probably currently digesting in the stomach of a Victreebel."

I could only stare at him for a moment before asking. "Did Hugo and Ginnette pass? Did they catch any Pokemon?"

He finally looked annoyed at me. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Let's go. The sooner I drop you off at the Center, the sooner I can go to district eight and have a beer."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: E-Rank

My escort and I took the nearest magnet train to the trainer district. We rode the train in silence. All I could think about at the moment was Phillip. "That could have been me," I thought. "I got lucky today. I could have easily suffered the same fate as Phillip. Rest in peace Phillip."

We reached the trainer district station and quickly disembarked. He led me to the Center and took me to the cafeteria. The room was half-full with trainers eating their dinner. I quickly spotted the Gym Leader at a table with other high ranking trainers. At another table I saw Hugo eating while some other trainers spoke to him. Everyone turned to look at us when we entered the room.

My escort walked up to the Gym Leader and said, "he passed." He handed Muliere the pokeball with my Poochyena in it and left the room. Muliere inspected the pokeball for a moment before standing.

"Congratulations on passing your Ordeal," he said to me. Many of the other trainers called out their congratulations as well. "Have a seat," he said as he gestured to the table where Hugo sat. "Once we're done with dinner, I'll need to talk to you and your friend." He sat back down and continued his meal.

I walked over to Hugo and sat down on the empty chair next to him. A moment later the night manager Annabelle walked up and put a tray of food down in front of me. "On the house," she said. She smiled at me before walking back into the kitchen. I dug into the meal.

Hugo stared at me for a moment. "So you passed huh?" he asked.

"Yep," I said after swallowing. "You?"

"Yep," he responded.

"Any news on Phillip?" I asked him.

"No," was all he said.

I stared at my tray before looking around. "Where's Ginnette?" I asked.

"In the barracks sleeping most likely," he answered. "She didn't pass. Came back bloodied without a captured Pokemon."

I felt sorry for Ginnette. "So she'll have to try again tomorrow," I said to myself.

"I guess so."

One trainer at the table spoke up. "So what did you catch kid?" he asked.

"A Poochyena," I answered.

Everyone at the table stopped eating to look at me. "A Poochyena?" one asked. "How did you manage that? You don't look like you came across any hunting groups."

"I didn't," I said. "I got lucky. It was a scouting group. There were only two Poochyena. I caught one and chased the other one off."

"Lucky is right," the first trainer said. "And not just because you survived an encounter with some Dark types."

I turned to look at him. "What do you mean?" I asked him.

He began to lecture me. "Like all Dark type Pokemon, Poochyena are extremely vicious. Most Dark types are very difficult to tame, especially for a rookie like yourself. However, Poochyena and Mightyena are pack Pokemon. They live in structured groups with the Alpha Mightyena on top, the Beta Poochyena and Mightyena under the Alphas and the Omega Poochyena on the bottom of the social group. If the Poochyena you caught was part of a scouting group, that means it was most likely a Omega. That gives you a slight edge when it comes to taming it."

"How so?" I asked.

"If it is a Omega, that means that it is used to submitting to Alphas, Betas, and any Omegas who happened to be stronger that it. When it comes time for you to tame it, just prove to it that you are the Alpha of its new pack. You can't feel any fear towards it for even a second. Be firm with it and never back down from it. Once you get it to submit to you and show you its underbelly you will have one loyal Pokemon."

"What if it decides to challenge me as it gets stronger?" I asked.

"Once it submits to you it wont challenge your authority unless you give it any reason to think you are weak. If it evolves into a Mightyena it might try a show of dominance to take the Alpha position away from you. If that happens you just have to stare it down without any fear and force it to submit again," he said. "Simple as that."

I thought about everything that he told me as I finished up my food. Once I was done I turned to Hugo. "So what Pokemon did you get?" I asked him.

"I caught a Zubat," he said sourly.

"Is there something wrong with it?" I asked after a moment.

"I hoped to catch an Aron," he responded.

"Why would you-" I cut myself off when he turned to glare at me. "Never mind. So I guess you didn't come across any?"

"No," he said. "But I did come across a Roggenrola that I tried to catch. That's how this happened," he said as he raised his broken arm. "It clipped me with Rock Blast. I managed to get away from it and decided to cut my loses. As I was leaving the cave I was in I spotted the Zubat sleeping on a wall. I tossed a pokeball and caught it easily."

"Sounds like you had it easier than I did," I told him.

"Really?" he asked as he looked at his broken arm.

"Really," I said. "At least you didn't have to deal with any angry Mankeys or hungry Persians or Joltiks."

That got the attention of everyone at the table again. After some begging they persuaded me to tell the whole story. I told them everything that happened to me in the forest while we all finished dinner. After a while, the Gym Leader stood up and addressed the room.

"It's getting late. The cafeteria will be closing soon and I'm sure some of you have some early morning missions. Time to clear out." Everyone stood up and began clearing the room. Hugo and I walked up to him as everyone was leaving. "Come with me," he said.

He led us both to the computer room. There were no other trainers there. Once he closed the door he turned to us. "Once again, congratulations on passing your Ordeals. As of right now you both are officially E-rank Pokemon trainers." He sat at one of the computer stations and pulled out three cards from his pocket and well as our two pokeballs and two trainer armbadges. One of the cards had S-rank stamped on the front while the other two had E-rank stamped. He swiped the S-rank card on the side of the computer and opened the trainer account app. He then placed one of the pokeballs in a slot in the device next to the computer. A picture of a Zubat popped up on the screen along with some information under it.

Muliere found the appropriate E-rank card and swiped it on the computer. He entered some information and the pokeball device lit up. After a moment we could see the button on the pokeball turn from blue to white. He removed the pokeball from the device and repeated the process with the other card and pokeball. When he finished with that he closed his account and turned back to us.

"Here," he said. He handed us each our respective pokeball as well as one of the cards and armbadges. "He are your Pokemon, trainer cards, and armbadges. You must have your trainer card and armbadge with you always. The armbadges are to show everyone that you are a Pokemon trainer. This is mostly to keep the civilians happy. The like to know when they are in the presence of any of us. That way they can quickly and quietly leave the area," he said sourly. "As if at any moment, we will just release our Pokemon and order them to maul them to death."

"The trainer cards are your primary form of identification. It lets others know what trainer rank you belong to and allows you to take on missions of the appropriate ranks. It also doubles as a debit card. When you complete a mission you must go to the mission office in the central district to receive your pay. The money you get from the successful mission is deposited directly into your trainer account. The trainer card is the only way to gain access to that money. If you lose the card you will have to come to the Center to have a new one issued. A fee will be taken out of your account to cover the cost of the replacement card," he said.

"Of course," he continued, "at your current rank you are not eligible to take on any missions. You will have to be promoted to D-rank first. I suggest you work hard the next few days to tame your new Pokemon. When you think that you are ready for the next rank, just head to my Gym and request a D-rank promotion exam. I will test you and your Pokemon to see if you have what it takes to start taking missions. If I don't think you are ready then you can always retake the exam after you give your Pokemon a bit more training. Any questions?" he asked us. We both shook our heads.

"Then you should get some rest. Tomorrow You will have to begin trying to tame your new Pokemon. I hope to see you both in my Gym soon," he said. Just before he left the room he stopped to turn to us. "Before I forget," he said. "Did either of you two have any unused pokeballs left over from your Ordeals?"

"None," Hugo said.

"One," I said.

"That pokeball now belongs to you. Tomorrow morning you should go to the Pokemart and have them register the ball to your trainer account. That way, once you have your Pokemon trained up a bit, you will be able to go out and catch another Pokemon without having to purchase another ball," he said to me. I looked happy about this while Hugo just looked annoyed.

"The backpacks and the items inside them now belong to you both as well. Think of them as a gift from me to welcome you both into the ranks of Pokemon trainers," he said to both of us. After that, Muliere turned around and left us alone.

We looked at each other for a moment. I checked the clock on the wall for the time. "It's getting late," I said. "Today was a long day for both of us. I'm heading to bed. I want to get up early to begin working with my Poochyena."

"Good idea," he said.

We both headed to the barracks and quickly went to bed. I stayed up late staring at the top bunk above me thinking about everything that happened today. Eventually, I closed my eyes and finally fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: This chapter has some information that was taken from the Pokemon wiki site, Bulbapedia. I took the idea of how to tame a wild Pokemon from another Pokemon fanfic that I read years ago. I cannot recall the author of the story. I would like to give him or her credit anyway for the idea.

Chapter 7: Shade

I woke up early the next morning, eager to get started on taming my new Pokemon. After I showered and got dressed I decided to follow the Gym Leaders advice from last night. I went to the Pokemart and had my leftover pokeball registered to my account. After that I went into the computer room.

I sat down at one of the computer stations and logged into my account. I then opened the Pokedex app and placed the Poochyena's pokeball into the device. The pokeball device immediately lit up as it scanned the ball. Once it finished scanning I clicked on the pokeball icon. A picture of a Poochyena appeared on the screen. Some information appeared under the picture.

Species: Poochyena, The Bite Pokemon

Type: Dark

Gender: Male

Age: Two Years

Nature: Hasty

Summary: Poochyena is a quadruped Pokemon that has a gray body with a black face and throat, feet, and belly. Its eyes have yellow sclera and red irises, and its nose is also red. Its lower jaw has two fangs sticking out. The fur at the base of its tail is rumpled and shaggy. Poochyena has gray paw pads on its three-toed paws.

Poochyena has a very keen sense of smell, allowing it to find and chase its prey with ease. It takes a bite at anything that moves, and makes the hair on its tail bristle out to try to intimidate its foes. Known for its tenacious nature, it chases after prey until the victim becomes exhausted. If its prey strikes back, it may turn tail. It is omnivorous and will eat anything. This Pokemon lives in grasslands and forests.

There was some more general information on the species after the basic summary. I paid close attention to the section on the attacks that Poochyena learn naturally in the wilds and the attacks that it could be taught. After reading all the given information I logged off my account and took the pokeball from the device. Before I left the computer room I sent a short message to my parents, informing them that I passed my Ordeal and that I would contact them tonight.

I entered the cafeteria and spotted Hugo eating by himself at a table. Once I received a tray of food from the kitchen, I walked over and sat across from him.

"Morning," I said.

"Morning," he replied. "You ready for today?"

"I am," I said. "I have a good idea of how to go about training my Poochyena. After I eat I'm going to head over to one of the grassland training grounds to get started. You?"

"I'm going to one of the mountain training grounds. I noticed the other day that they all had at least one small cave carved out. I figure if I release the Zubat into a similar environment that I got it from I would have an easier time trying to tame it." he said.

"Good luck with that," I said. We ate our meal in silence for a moment. I finished up my food except for half of my sandwich. I wrapped that part back up and put it in my backpack. "I was wondering, did you use up all your Repel yesterday?" I asked him.

"No," he answered. "I still have about half. Most of the Pokemon I ran into in the caves yesterday were Rock types. Since most don't even have noses, It would have been a total waste to use it against any of them. Why?"

"May I borrow what you have left?" I asked. "I'll pay you back." I said quickly before he could respond. "Once I complete my first mission I'll use some of the money to buy you a new can."

He thought about it for a moment. "Sure. Knock yourself out." He grabbed his backpack and took out the can of Repel. I thanked him for it after he gave it to me. "Well," he said. "I'm done here. I'm going to the training ground. It's time for me to get started. Coming?"

We both stood up and took our trays to the kitchen. Once we were done we left the Center and headed towards the training grounds. After walking in silence for a while I spoke up. "Have you seen Ginnette today?"

"Yes," he said. "A trainer picked her up this morning and took her to retake her Ordeal. I think they are going to take her to the southern gate again."

"I hope she passes this time," I said.

"We'll see," he said. "I still think she doesn't have what it takes to be a trainer."

"Like I said before, she may surprise you."

"We'll see," he repeated.

We walked in silence for a bit more before Hugo split off and headed in a different direction. "Good luck," he said as he walked away. I wished him luck as well and kept walking. I kept examining the training grounds that I passed by until I reached one of the small training grounds meant for single trainer use. It was currently empty. The field consisted of just a small grass field with four wooden practice dummies spread out.

"This looks good," I thought after I examined the field for a moment. I checked my pockets to make sure I had the pokeball and the can of Repel. I pulled the pokeball from my pocket and stared at it. "Here goes nothing." I held out the pokeball and activated the release. The ball opened and released a bright light. The Poochyena materialized a few feet in front of me. He looked dazed for a moment until he shook himself. He quickly examined the area and spotted me.

The Poochyena tensed up and growled at me. Just as he was getting ready to run at me to attack, I recalled him back into the pokeball. "So far so good," I thought. "Lets try that again." I held out the pokeball and released the Poochyena again. He recovered from being released faster this time. A second after he materialized, he jumped at me and tried to Bite me. I managed to recall him just before he reached me. "That was close," I thought. "I need to be more careful."

For the next hour or so I kept repeating this process. I would release the Poochyena then quickly recall him as he tried to attack me. After a while the Pokemon gave up on trying to attack. Instead, he would try to run away as soon as he was released. We kept this up for about another hour. Eventually, the Poochyena stopped trying to escape. After I released him, he just stood there staring at me.

"Time for phase two," I thought. I put the pokeball into my pocket and took out the can of Repel. I kept staring straight into his eyes and began slowly waking towards him. He just stood still and kept staring back at me. I finally reached him and stopped right in front of him. We kept staring into each others eyes for a long moment.

"Phase three," I thought. I slowly moved my free hand and began reaching down to lay my hand on him. He began to growl again and tensed up, looking ready to attack. I quickly brought the hand holding the Repel and sprayed him in the face. He let out a loud yelp and began pawing at his face. I pulled out the pokeball and recalled him. I waited for about ten minutes, giving the pokeball's healing ability a chance to deal with the Repel.

"Third phase," I thought. If this did not work, I would have to try a different method to tame the Poochyena. I released him again. He shook himself once he materialized and then immediately turned to me. Once again we locked eyes and stared at each other. After a couple of minutes I began to walk slowly up to him again. Once I reached him, I began to try to lay my hand on him again. He started to growl again and tensed up. I quickly brought up the can of Repel and pointed it at him. He immediately stopped growling and crouched down.

We continued to stare at each other. I held the Repel in my hand, ready to use. He just stayed crouched down. After several minutes of this, he lied down on the ground and rolled over, presenting me his underbelly. I didn't hesitate in putting the can of Repel back in my pocket and crouching down to rub his belly. He closed his eyes and started to make a purring sound. After a moment I stood up. He quickly followed my example and stood as well.

I looked at him for a minute before I kneeled down and began petting his head. I pulled out the other half of the sandwich from this morning and offered it to him. He quickly snatched it from my hand and began eating it. "I think I'll call you Shade," I said to him.

Shade wagged his tail and barked at me.

Shade and I stayed out in the training ground for the next couple of hours. I watched him as he explored the area. Eventually I called him to me and began working on the next part of the taming process. I began teaching him to follow my commands. He learned quickly, almost too quickly. In a matter of minutes I had him following basic commands such as "sit" and "stay".

"The other trainers were right," I thought. "Pokemon are much smarter than we think."

Once we had all the basic commands down, I decided to try some simple attack commands. "Shade. Look," I said to him. I pointed to one of the wooden practice dummies close to us. Shade looked at the dummy then turned back to me. "Shade," I said, "Tackle." Shade cocked his head at me. I pointed to the dummy again. "Shade, Tackle attack," I said more firmly.

Shade began running at the practice dummy. Just before it reached the dummy, he leapt and gave it a full-bodied Tackle. The dummy shook for a second but remained undamaged. Shade turned to look at me. "Good Shade," I praised. "Good job." He wagged his tail and barked at me. We kept practicing his Tackle attack a few more times. After a while I decided to try some other attacks Shade would most likely already know. By the time the sun started to set, I had trained Shade to the point were he would use Tackle, Sand-Attack, and Bite on command without hesitation. At that point I decided to call it a day.

I pulled out his pokeball and Shade immediately began to tense up. "Stop!" I said. He quickly lied down. "You'll have to get used to being inside this ball. I can't keep you out all the time. I'll be sure to let you out whenever I can. Understand?" I told him firmly. He rolled over and presented me his underbelly again. "Good." I pointed the pokeball at him. "Return." Shade did not put up any struggle as he was recalled into his pokeball.

I gathered up my things and began to head back to the Center. Once I reached it, I entered the computer room and logged onto my account. I placed Shade's pokeball in the device and activated the healing program to help him get back his energy. While the device was working on Shade, I made a call to my family.

My parents were overjoyed to see that I was alright. They were both relieved that I passed my Ordeal without sustaining any injury. They enquired about my Pokemon and I explained all the progress I made today in taming him. They were worried about me having to deal with a Dark type Pokemon but happy that it was going so well. My mother asked me when I would be able to visit. I told her to give me a couple of weeks. I wanted to make D-rank first and take a couple of missions before I made my visit.

I spoke to Bobby for a few minutes as well. He was really excited to see me on the screen. He kept asking me endless questions about my Ordeal and Shade. Finally, I told him that It was getting late and I had to get up early and train some more. I said my goodbyes to my family and promised to keep in touch.

Before I went to bed I decided to see how Hugo had done with his Zubat. I checked the cafeteria and the Lounge but did not see him there. I finally found him in the barracks. He was laying on his bed with a bag of ice on his forehead.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked him.

"Supersonic attack," he replied. "I've never had such a bad headache before."

"I'm guessing you didn't have much luck taming your Zubat today," I said.

"You guess right," he said. "The little bastard did not listen to a word I said. Every time I released him from the pokeball, he would hit me with Supersonic then try to Bite me. I gave up trying once the headache got so bad I could barely see straight. I'll try again tomorrow."

"You may want to rethink your method for taming him," I said. "Talk to one of the middle ranked trainers. I'm sure one of them can give you a good idea you can try."

"Right," he replied sourly. After a moment he asked, "so how was your day?"

"It went much better than I hoped," I answered. "I think I have Shade half trained at this point."

"Shade?" he asked.

"That's what I decided to call him." I said. "Have you given your Zubat a name?"

"Not yet," he replied. "Not sure yet if I'm going to keep him. If today was any indication, I might just scrap him and ask to retake my Ordeal. Maybe I can get my Aron this time."

"Don't be stupid," I said. "We were both lucky to survive our Ordeals. Do you really want to risk your life again when you already have a Pokemon? Just give the Zubat some more time. Today was just the first day trying to tame it. I'm sure you will get through to it if you keep working at it."

"I guess," he said.

I began getting ready for bed. As I was changing into my sleep clothes, a thought occurred to me. "Did you hear about Ginnette?" I asked.

"I did actually," he said. "She passed. Ran back to the city state after a few hours clutching a pokeball in her hands. Muliere already officially promoted her to E-rank."

"What Pokemon did she get?"

"A Hoppip," he said.

"Huh," I grunted as I got into bed. "I bet she was happy."

"I think she was more shocked than anything. She didn't really say much to anyone, just kept staring at her pokeball."

"I hope she has better luck than you did taming it," I told him.

"Thanks," he said sourly. "I'm going to sleep now. I'm going to try again tomorrow to tame the little bastard. Are you going to request to take the D-rank examination tomorrow for your promotion?"

"No," I said. "I want to work with Shade for another day to make sure he is tame. I'll give it two more days before going to the Gym."

"Your choice," he said. "Well. Time to get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day. Night."

"Goodnight," I replied. I quickly feel asleep, eager for morning to come for another day of training.


	8. Chapter 8

Notes: I've decided to change the attack types of Bite and Crunch attack. I never understood why those two attacks were labeled Dark type. In my story, both attacks are considered Normal type attacks.

Chapter 8: D-Rank

The next morning Hugo and I woke up early to continue working with our Pokemon. Instead of eating in the cafeteria today, I grabbed my food and left the Center. I took Shade to different training grounds to work on him some more. He continued to obey my commands without resistance. The only brief setback we had was when we came across another trainer at one of the larger training grounds working with his Pokemon. As soon as Shade spotted them, he dashed forward intending to take down the trainer. I yelled at him to stop before he reached his target. After apologizing to the trainer I took Shade to an empty training ground to deal with this issue.

I lectured him firmly for some time. I kept stressing how he could not attack other humans or even other Pokemon unless I gave him the command to attack. Once I was done with the lecture I decided to see if he would obey my rules. We wandered around the training grounds for the next couple of hours. Whenever we came across another trainer, I would stop to introduce myself and chat for a bit. I kept a close eye on Shade to make sure he would not attack. Although he did tense up whenever we were near other trainers or Pokemon, he did not try to attack any of them. Afterwards, we went to a large forest training ground to work on my attack commands. Another trainer was there with his Pokemon. After watching me for a bit he walked over and started giving me some advice on how to teach him new attacks.

By the time the sun began to set, we made some real progress on mastering Shades first Dark type attack, Assurance. I decided to end our training at this point. I sat on a large rock and took out my food. Shade came over and stared at me until I gave him half of my sandwich. "I'll need to start earning some money soon," I thought. "Or else I have to start taking Shade out into the wilds to hunt for food. One free meal a day is barely enough for me to live on."

Once we finished all the food I recalled Shade and made my way back to the Center. I tried to find Hugo to ask him how his day went. I found him in the cafeteria, sitting at a table with Ginnette. She was picking at the food in front of her. He was laying his head on the table with another bag of ice on it.

"Hey," I greeted them.

"Hey," he mumbled.

"Hi," she said quietly.

I sat down next to Hugo. "So," I said, "any luck today?"

"None," he replied. "It went pretty much the same as yesterday. The problem is the damn Supersonic. As soon as I release him, the little bastard hits me with it then tries to take a bite out of me."

"You haven't fed him at all since you captured him right? That might be part of the problem. He hasn't eaten in at least two days so he tries to feed off you whenever you release him," I told him. "The Pokedex app said that Zubat eat fruit and small Bug Pokemon. They can also use Leech Life to drain nutrients from larger prey. Try feeding him and you might have better luck."

"I still have to get passed the Supersonic problem before I can try feeding him," he said.

"Have you tried asking some other trainers for advice?" I asked.

"I did," he said. "A couple of them mentioned that the Pokemart sold special earplugs that allow you to hear while blocking the effects of any sound based Pokemon attack. They are supposed to be pretty cheap. Problem is, I can't afford to buy any until I can complete a mission."

"And you can't take on any missions until you tame the Zubat and get promoted to D-rank," I finished.

"Right," he said.

"Well," I said after a moment of silence. "Keep at it. I'm sure you'll get through to him soon."

"Thanks," he mumbled.

I finally turned to Ginnette. "I haven't seen you since the day of our Ordeals," I told her. "Congratulations on passing yesterday."

"Thank you," she replied.

"Did you begin trying to tame your Hoppip today?" I asked.

"Yes, I did," she said.

"How did it go?"

She shrugged. "Not bad I guess. I finally got to the point were he stopped trying to attack me or run away as soon as I released him. He still wont obey my commands though. He just flies around me and ignores anything I say. Still," she said, "I made a little progress with him today."

Hugo turned to glare at her for a moment. "Not surprising," I thought. "He kept saying she did not have what it takes to be a trainer and she made more progress in one day than he did in two. That must sting."

"The next time you try just remember to be firm with him," I advised her. "If he sees that you're timid or senses any fear from you then he will refuse to obey. You have to prove that you are the dominant one."

"Speaking from experience?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure that I have Shade well trained at this point," I told her. "I'm going to the Gym tomorrow to request to take the D-rank promotion exam."

They both turned to look at me. "Already?" she asked, sounding surprised. "It's been only two days since you caught your Pokemon."

"I'm ready," I said. "The D-rank exam is supposed to be easy. I just have to prove that Shade will obey anything I tell him. I shouldn't have a problem with that."

They both continued to look at me. I could see both of them becoming determined to tame their Pokemon and catch up with me. I stood up after a moment. "Well," I said. "Good luck to both of you tomorrow. I'm sure you will be ready to take your own exams soon. I'm heading to bed. I want to get up early to head to the Gym as soon as it opens."

"Good luck," Ginnette said.

Hugo just grunted at me. I told them both goodnight then headed to the barracks. As I lied in bed I thought about how much I've changed since my Selection Day. Before that day I lived in fear about possibly getting chosen to be a trainer. Now, I was excited about taking my exam the next day and being able to take on missions.

"Imagine that," I thought as I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning I was up before Hugo. I got dressed quickly and left the barracks. It was so early that neither the Pokemart nor the cafeteria were open. I left the Center and walked quickly over to the Gym. It was still closed so I decided to wait out in front until it opened. I waited for about 30 minutes before Gym Leader Muliere opened the door from inside.

"Morning," he said. "You're up early. I don't usually see anyone in the Gym until after breakfast. I'm guessing that you're here because you think you are ready for D-rank."

"Yes sir," I said. "I'm here to formally request to take the D-rank promotion exam."

"No need for all the formalities rookie," he said.

"Sorry sir," I said.

He sighed and looked at the watch on his wrist. "I was about to head out to get some breakfast but I guess I can test you first. This exam doesn't take long anyway. Come on in."

I followed him and got my first look at the inside the Gym. The entrance opened to a large room. In center of the room was a large battlefield. On each side of the battlefield was four smaller training grounds. Each training ground had two practice dummies. Along the walls were racks filled with different items meant to be used for training.

We stepped onto one of the training grounds and Muliere pulled out a Great Ball from his pocket. "Bruiser," he called out. The pokeball opened and released a large gray Pokemon. The Pokemon had four arms and rippling muscles all over its body. He stood at attention in front of Muliere. "This is Bruiser, my Machamp."

Muliere noticed how my eyes were filled with apprehension. "Don't worry," he told me. "You won't have to battle him for your exam." Muliere turned to Bruiser and pointed to me. "This trainer is here to take the D-rank exam," he told the Pokemon.

"Machamp," was all Bruiser said. He walked over to the side of the training ground. When he reached the edge, he turned and stood with his arms crossed, staring at us.

"Right," Muliere said. "Time to begin. Call out your Pokemon."

I pulled out Shade's pokeball. "Shade," I called out as I released him. Shade materialized and immediately stood at attention. I turned to Muliere and waited.

"Alright," he said. "The first part of the exam is very simple. Just have Shade attack one of the practice dummies. Go through all the attacks he currently knows."

"Shade," I said and pointed to one dummy. "Tackle."

Shade took off running towards the dummy. As he reached his target, he leaped and gave it a strong Tackle.

"Good boy Shade," I praised. Shade barked happily and moved back to stand in front of me.

"Next attack," Muliere said.

"Shade, Bite," I said as I pointed to the dummy again.

Shade moved quickly back to the dummy and bit it. The Bite attack was strong enough to crack the wooden dummy.

"Good Shade," I said as he made his way back to me.

"Next attack," Muliere said.

I turned to the Gym Leader. "Shade also knows Sand-Attack," I told him. "But there is no sand or dirt for him to use in here."

"Very well," he said. "Let's move on. Does he know any other attacks?"

I hesitated for a moment. "He knows one more," I said.

"Let's see it then."

I turned back to Shade. "Shade," I said to him as I pointed to the dummy. "Assurance."

Shade stood still for a second. He then ran towards the dummy as if he was going to Tackle it again. As he was running, his body began to glow with a dark light. Once he reached the dummy he gave it a tackle and the dark light flared dimly before disappearing. The dummy barely shook.

"That Assurance needs some work," Muliere told me. "It should have cracked the dummy at the least. Keep working on that."

"Yes sir," I told him, slightly embarrassed.

"Let's move on to the next part of the exam," he said. He moved over to the racks on the wall and came back with a box in his hands. He opened the box. Inside the box there was about a dozen little rubber balls. I could see that all the balls were either colored yellow, blue or red. He tipped the box over and scattered the balls all over the floor. He then placed the box in the center of the training ground.

"Right then," he said. "For this next part you will have to have Shade collect all the balls and put them back into the box. He has to put the balls away in a specific order of colors. Start with a blue ball, then a yellow ball and finally a red ball. Keep repeating the order until all the balls are in the box. You then have to close the box and hold it in your hands. Understand?"

"Yes sir," I said.

"Begin."

"Shade," I said. I pointed to one of the blue balls. "Get the ball."

He looked at me then looked around at the scattered balls. He moved towards the ball closest to him. It was one of the red balls.

"No Shade," I corrected. He stopped. I pointed to the blue ball closest to him. "The blue ball. Get the blue ball Shade."

He understood what I wanted this time. He walked up to the ball and picked it up in his mouth. He then turned to look at me.

I pointed to the box. "Put the ball in the box Shade."

He moved over to the box and dropped the ball inside.

"Good boy," I said. "Now a yellow ball."

Shade quickly moved to the yellow ball I was pointing at and picked it up. Without prompting he moved over to the box and dropped it inside. I quickly pointed to one red ball and had him put it into to box as well. After repeating the process two more times, Shade understood the point of this part of the exam. He put away the rest of the balls in the correct order without any orders from me. Once the last ball was in the box, I closed it and held it in my hands.

"Very good," Muliere said. He just stood there staring at me.

"Did I pass?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"Not yet," he said. "There's still one more part you have to pass. Let's begin now."

He began walking towards me. I assumed that he was going to retrieve the box and put it back on the racks. I held the box out to him. Once he was a couple of feet in front of me, he suddenly leapt at me. He brought up his right fist, as if getting ready to punch me.

Shade began to bark wildly and moved towards Muliere to attack him. I stood frozen in shock for a second before my mind caught up with me.

"Stop!" I yelled at Shade.

Shade obeyed me instantly. He stopped a few feet in front of us. He stood staring at Muliere, growling the entire time.

"Congratulations," Muliere said to me. "You pass."

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"You pass," he repeated.

"I don't understand," I said. "What about the last part?"

"That was the last part," he said.

"What?" I repeated.

"This exam was broken down into three parts," he began. "You had to pass all three parts to be promoted into D-rank. In the first part you had to prove to me that Shade would obey your commands. You did this by ordering Shade to use the attacks that you taught him on the practice dummy. In the second part you had to prove that Shade could follow simple directions. You did this by having him collect the rubber balls and return them to the box in the correct order. Only after passing those two parts would you be allowed to attempt the third part.

He turned to look at Shade. Shade continued to stare and growl at the Gym Leader. Muliere turned back to me and continued. "In the third and final part of the exam you had to prove that you could control Shade even in a stressful situation. If Shade had ignored your order to stop, I would have instantly failed you. You would have had to train him some more and come back another day to retake the entire exam."

"What if he hadn't stopped?" I asked him. "He could have seriously hurt you or even killed you before I could have recalled him back to his pokeball."

"That is why Bruiser was here," he said. "He would have stepped in between me and Shade in an instant just before he would have reached me. He would have brought Shade down hard."

I had forgotten about the Leader's Pokemon. I turned to look at Bruiser. The Machamp no longer had his arms crossed. Instead, they were hanging out at his sides and he stood tense as he stared at Shade.

Muliere gave me a few seconds to let that sink in. "Congratulations," he said again. He then recalled Bruiser back into his pokeball. "Follow me."

I recalled Shade back into his pokeball and followed Muliere. He led me to a door at the back end of the Gym. We walked into what was clearly his office. He sat behind the desk and motioned me to sit in front of him. As I sat down, he logged into the computer in front of him.

"Give me your trainer card," he said.

I pulled out my card and handed it to him. He swiped the card on the side of the computer and pressed some keys. Once he was done, he pulled another card out of his desk and swiped it. After staring at the screen for a few moments, he gave me the new card. The card was similar to my old one. The only differences were the trainer number and the fact that this one had D-Rank stamped on it instead of E-Rank.

"That is your new trainer card," he said. "I just updated your account so it matches your new trainer ID number and rank. You are now officially a D-rank trainer."

I stared at the card in my hand in silence.

"Now that you are D-rank," he continued, "you may begin taking missions. You are eligible to take on D-rank missions solo or as a team. You may take a C-rank mission only if you team up with a C-rank or B-rank trainer. To do this, the higher ranking trainer must accept the mission request then add you on to the mission acceptance . If you do team up on a mission, whether D-rank or C-rank, the pay you receive for completing the mission will be split between the team according to rank. So if you team up with another D-rank trainer, the pay will be split evenly between you. However, If you team up with a higher ranking trainer, you will only get 40% of the pay if he is one rank higher or 30% if he is two ranks higher. Understand?"

I nodded.

"Keep in mind that no D-rank mission will take you outside the walls," he said. "All D-rank missions take place within the city state although not all missions that take place within the city state are D-rank. Most of the D-rank missions are guard duty missions that have little risk. You may accept any mission request from the computer room in the Center or directly from the mission office in central district but to receive your pay you must actually go to the mission office and inform them of your mission completion."

He paused. "Do you have any questions?"

I shook my head. "No sir."

"In that case," he said. "Let's go to the cafeteria. I'm sure you must be as hungry as I am at this point."

I agreed with him. I followed him out of the Gym. As we headed to the Center, I couldn't help walking with a slight spring in my step.

"D-rank," I thought to myself. "Time to start earning a living."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Outside The Wall

Muliere and I went to the cafeteria for breakfast. When we entered the room, he announced to the trainers in there that I passed my D-rank exam. Most of the trainers walked up to me to congratulate me and shake my hand. After I grabbed a tray of food, I sat down at a table with some other D-rank trainers. We spoke about my exam as I was eating my meal. Once I was done, I asked them if they knew were Hugo and Ginnette were. Apparently, they both skipped breakfast this morning and went straight to the training grounds.

I left the cafeteria when most of the trainers left for their missions. I decided that it was time for me to sign up for my first mission. I went to the computer room and logged onto a computer. After clicking on the link to the mission office, I scrolled down through the D-rank missions. Most of them were guard duty missions that were requested by the city state. There were only a handful of mission requests from private citizens. I decided to stick to the city state requests for now.

"Lets see," I thought. "There are gate guard missions and guard patrol of the city state missions take place in two or three days. I guess most of the guard positions for tomorrow must have been filled already." The were only two city state mission requests for tomorrow that were still available. One was a mission to guard the western gate. The other was a guard patrol mission in district five. I clicked on the second request to bring up the mission specs.

Mission Rank: D

Reward: $50

Location: District Five Public Park

Summary: Trainer needed for the morning shift to patrol the public park in District Five. Must be ready to deal with any wild Pokemon that may have made it into Asidia. Civilian safety is first priority. Trainer must report to the park's guard station at 8AM. Shift will end at 2PM.

"This looks simple enough," I thought. I clicked on the accept button on the screen. A window popped up and asked me to swipe my trainer card. I pulled out my card and swiped it on the side of the computer. My information appeared in the request page and it asked me for confirm acceptance. After I confirmed, the computer sent the request to the mission office. A minute later, I received confirmation that I was assigned to the mission. "That's that."

I logged off the computer and glanced at the clock. It was still morning. I had eaten all the food from my breakfast this morning and had nothing to give Shade. It was time to go hunting. I left the Center and went to the station. I rode the magnet train to the station nearest to the eastern gate. One I reached the station, I disembarked and walked to the gate. One trainer guarding the gate saw me and moved to intercept me.

"Hold it," he said. He spotted my armbadge just before he reached me. "Oh, sorry," he apologized. "I thought you were a civilian."

"No problem," I said.

"Haven't seen you before. You must be one of the rookies," he said.

"I am," I responded.

"You leaving the city state?" he asked.

"I'm taking my Pokemon hunting," I answered.

"Well, I can't stop you," he said. "Just be careful out there. Keep your Pokemon out and ready for anything. Good hunting," he said.

"Thanks," I responded.

He motioned to one of the other trainers. A second later, the gate began to open and I started moving forward. As soon as I cleared the gate I called out Shade. He appeared in front of me and stood at attention.

"We're going hunting," I told him.

He barked once then turned and starting moving away from the city state with me following. The gate led out to a long dirt road. Along either side of the road I could mainly see only tall grass. There were very few trees scattered here and there. We stuck to the road for a while but did not come across any Pokemon.

"I guess they're all hiding in the grass." I thought. After about 30 more minutes I finally decided we had to enter the grassy field. I was nervous but determined to hunt down some food for Shade.

"Stay close," I told him.

He barked again and starting walking a couple of feet to the left of me while sniffing at the ground. We kept this up for a while without success. Just as I thought about trying to hunt in a different area, I heard quick movement from behind me. Before I could turn around to face it, I felt a sharp pain from my right ankle. I gave a yell and fell to the ground. Shade started barking wildly. I turned to look at my ankle and saw a Rattata bitting down on it. I tried to shake it off but it held on.

"Shade, Bite!" I yelled.

He moved quickly to the other Pokemon and bit down on it. The Rattata finally let go of my ankle. I rolled away and stood quickly while favoring my right side. The Rattata tried to turn to attack Shade but he had a good grip on the rat's midsection. He shook the Pokemon hard for a few seconds before bitting down hard. I heard a loud crack and the Rattata stopped moving. Shade shook it some more to make sure it was dead but it stayed still.

I took a few deep breaths before grimacing and sitting down on the ground. I rolled back the right leg of my pants to examine my wound. The Rattata bit clear through the skin. I was bleeding steadily. As I was examining the wound, Shade walked up to me and set the dead Rattata down in front of me then waited. It took me a second to realize what he wanted.

"No thanks," I told him. "I already ate. Help yourself."

He didn't need to be told twice. Once I gave the go ahead he lied down and began tearing into the corpse. I looked on in disgust for a moment before turning back to my injury. I pulled the medicine case from my backpack and took out a Potion. I sprayed some on my ankle and winced at the sting. Next I tore a strip of cloth from my shirt and tied it around my ankle. Finally, I uncapped the Potion and took a small sip to make sure that I would not get an infection. By the time I was done, Shade had already finished his meal and stood waiting for me.

"Come on," I told him. "We're going home."

He barked and followed me as I headed back to the road. We did not run into any more Pokemon on the way. Once we reached to road we started walking back to the city state. We were moving slower due to my injury. Eventually we made it back to the gate.

"Open the gate!" I yelled as I limped up to it.

One trainer at the top of the wall looked down at me then signaled down to the other side. The gate began to open and I limped forward. The same trainer from before walked up to me.

"Tough time?" he asked.

"I was bitten by a Rattata," I responded.

"Do you need someone to take a look at the bite?"

"No thanks," I said. "I took some Potion and wrapped it up. Most of the pain is gone already."

"Alright then," he said. "You should still get off your feet for a while to speed up the healing process."

"I will," I said. "I'm heading back to the Center now."

The trainer said goodbye and went back to the guard station. I went to the magnet train station and took the next train back to the trainer district. The sun was just starting to set by the time I made it back.

Immediately on entering the Center, I went to the computer room and made a call to my family. My father was the one who answered the call this time. Apparently, my mother was out shopping and took my brother with her. I told him how my week was going so far and that I was promoted to D-rank. Like my mother, he was happy that I was doing alright for myself. However, I could sense a reservation there as I was talking to him. When I asked him when would be a good time for me to visit, I saw him hesitate for a second before he said I could go in two days. We said our goodbyes soon after that and ended the call.

I sat at the computer station for a long moment thinking about the conversation I had with my father. Finally, I gave a sigh and logged off the computer. I got up and left the computer room. I decided to go see Hugo and Ginnette before I went to bed. Once again, I found them sitting at a table in the cafeteria. Ginnette was the first one to spot me as I walked up to them. She noticed my slight limp right away.

"What happened?" she asked. She looked worried.

Hugo looked over to me and noticed the limp as well. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said. I sat down in front of them. "I went out into the wilds to take Shade hunting. A Rattata attacked me. The injury wasn't too bad. I used some of my Potion. It should be healed up by tomorrow. At least I hope it is. I'm supposed to complete my first mission tomorrow."

"We heard that you made D-rank," Ginnette said. "Congratulations."

"How was the exam?" Hugo asked. "Was it hard?"

"Not really," I said. "The first two parts were really easy. The third part was only a little surprising."

"What exactly did you have to do?" Ginnette asked.

I thought about it for a moment. "Muliere didn't say I couldn't talk about my exam with Hugo or Ginnette," I thought. "I guess it wont hurt."

I quickly broke down the three parts of the exam to them. They both paid close attention to everything I said.

"Huh," Hugo said after I finished. "That sounds really easy. Much easier than our Ordeals were."

"Says the guy who still can't control his Zubat," Ginnette teased.

Hugo turned to glare at Ginnette. I turned to him.

"No progress still?" I asked.

"Obviously not," he replied hotly. "I've decided to retake my Ordeal. I'm going to talk to the Gym Leader tomorrow."

We both looked at him in alarm. Ginnette began trying to persuade him to give it some more time. Hugo remained stubborn about his decision. I was trying to think of a solution to the problem while they were arguing. I suddenly I thought of something that might work.

"Listen," I said.

They stopped arguing and turned to me.

"Why don't we all three go to one of the larger training grounds together tomorrow to work on our Pokemon? We can help one another," I said.

"I don't need help," Hugo said immediately.

"You need all the help you can get," said Ginnette. She turned back to me. "That sounds like a good idea. You seem to be handling being a trainer better than we are. I could use some of your help with my Hoppip too."

"Did you follow my advice from yesterday?" I asked her. "Any progress?"

"Yes I did," she answered. "I remained firm when dealing with him and showed no fear. I was finally able to get him to pay attention to me and listen to very basic commands. Thanks for that."

"You're welcome," I told her. I turned back to Hugo. "Well?"

He stared at me silently for a few seconds.

"Fine," he said. "I'll give it one more day. If I don't see any progress tomorrow, I'm going straight to Muliere. Happy?"

"Very," I said.

"When and where do we meet up?" Ginnette asked.

"My mission shift tomorrow ends at 2PM." I said. "Once I'm done I'll head straight to the mission office to collect my pay. Let's meet up here at the Center at 4PM."

"That only gives us like three or four hours of daylight," Ginnette said. "Maybe we should meet the next day early in the morning?"

"No," Hugo said. "I'm not putting this off. I said one more day and I mean it."

"That's fine," I told him. "I have and idea of how to get your Zubat to listen to you. If it doesn't work then you can try to retake your Ordeal."

"Deal," he said.

Ginnette agreed while looking a bit worried.

I stood up. "I'm heading to bed." I said. "I have to get to the park in district five by 9AM. Night."

"Night," Hugo said.

"Goodnight," Ginnette said.

I headed to the barracks to get ready to go to bed. The whole time I thought about my first mission and my idea to help Hugo.

"I hope everything works out tomorrow," I thought.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: First Mission

I woke up early the next morning to get ready for my mission. Before anything else, I unwrapped my ankle to check my injury. The bite already healed over leaving only a white scar. I stood up and jumped but felt no pain.

"Those Potions are amazing," I thought. "I should have no problem at all today."

Once I was ready, I went to the cafeteria and grabbed some food to eat it on the way to District Five. I rushed over to the train station and boarded a magnet train. It did not take me long to reach the station in the district closest to the park.

District Five was the commercial district of the city state of Asidia. Although every district in the city state has some shops, this district was completely filled with malls, supermarkets, and many restaurants. There was only one large public park in the district located in the center. I made it to the park with 30 minutes to spare and walked around until I found the guard station. There were five trainers standing in front of the station talking. One trainer saw me and split off from the rest and walked up to me.

"Morning," she said. "You must be Trainer Jacob. I'm Trainer Jessica. I'm the shift leader for our shift."

"Yes, I am," I told her. "It's good to meet you."

"You're here early," she said. "Good. I wanted to speak to you before our shift started."

"Why?" I asked nervously.

"You're still a rookie," she responded. "And this is your first mission. I just wanted to go over what you can expect today."

"Alright," I said.

She motioned for me to follow her and we started walking deeper into the park. I took note of landscape as we were walking. The park was mostly low trimmed lawns with trees and park benches spread out. There was a paved path that wound around and through the park for people to walk on. There was also a good sized pond in the center of the park.

"This is a guard patrol mission," she began. "That means our mission consists of constantly patrolling this park looking for any wild Pokemon that may have made it into the city state. Unfortunately, the wall can't keep out every single Pokemon. Some of them do manage to sneak in and make it far into the city state. Most of them are smaller Pokemon that a D-rank trainer can easily deal with. Our primary objective is to protect any civilians that are in the park. Taking out wild Pokemon is secondary to civilian safety. Any questions so far?"

I shook my head.

"Park guard patrols are always made up of at least three trainers," she continued. "Two of the trainers are either D-rank or C-rank. The third is always either a C-rank or B-rank who is in charge of the shift. I'm a C-rank trainer and therefore in charge of this shift since I outrank you and the other trainer in our shift."

"If the third trainer can be a B-rank," I said, "that means that your mission rank is C. I thought that these guard patrol missions were all D-rank?"

"Mine is a supervisory mission," she explained. "It's my job to keep track of my subordinates and take care of any issues that you can't handle yourselves. I'll spend most of the shift in the guard station manning the radio and the park's intercom system. You and the other trainer will mostly be walking around keeping an eye on things. Understand?"

I nodded.

"You're lucky," she said. "This is a fairly easy mission. The morning shifts usually see little action. The night shifts usually encounter wild Pokemon at least once in each shift. There are also usually very few citizens moving through the park at this time of day. This will be a good way to ease you into taking missions."

"Should I have my Pokemon out during the shift?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No. This is a civilian park. Unless we run into any wild Pokemon, it's best not to have our own out. We don't want to terrify anyone who decides to come here to relax."

"Understood." I said.

She glanced at a watch on her wrist for the time. "Let's head back," she said. "Our shift starts in a couple of minutes."

"Alright," I said.

We made it back to the guard station just before the shift change. Three of the trainers wished us luck and headed out of the park. That left Jessica, another D-rank trainer a couple of years older then myself who introduced himself as Mark and me. Jessica gave us each a handheld radio from the guard station and told us to begin patrolling together for a bit before splitting up. She sent us off then went into the station.

Mark had very little to say to me. He made it clear that it was not his choice to be a trainer and he remained at D-rank by choice despite being an active trainer for almost three years. Not knowing what to say to him, I spent most of the time walking next to him in silence. I was relieved when one hour into our shift, Jessica contacted us on the radio and told us to patrol separately.

I continued walking on the path through the park on my own for the next couple of hours. There were only a handful of civilians around and most of them gave me a wide berth when they saw my trainer armbadge. Every 30 minutes I had to radio the station to report no problems. So far I did not report any signs of wild Pokemon.

At noon, Jessica ordered Mark to take a 30 minute break. After he was done, it was my turn. Since I had no food or money, I decided to sit on a park bench and watch the civilians coming and going.

"Halfway trough my shift and no problems to report," I thought as I watched a couple taking a leisurely walk. "We were always told stories about how dangerous trainer missions were. This isn't so bad. I'm actually enjoying myself."

My break finished and I began patrolling the park again. I was glad that the shift was almost over with no issues. "I hope that most of the D-rank missions are as easy as this one is," I thought. A few seconds after I had that thought, I heard I heard a panicked scream from the other end of the park.

"Pidgeys!"

"Spoke to soon," I thought as I spun and ran in the direction of the scream. There were some civilians running away from the area I was running too. As I was running I heard Mark over the radio reporting to Jessica about the incident and that he was en route. Once he was done, I used the radio to tell her I was en route as well. A moment later, I heard an alarm sound and Jessica's voice echoing through the park.

"Attention Citizens!" she said. "Wild Pokemon have been spotted in the vicinity. All civilians are to immediately evacuate the area. Please exit the park quickly and calmly."

I finally reached the area of the disturbance and came onto a scene of total mayhem. There was a flock of about two dozen Pidgeys in this area of the park. Some of the Pidgeys had a family of three pinned down and were hitting them with Peck attacks. The rest were focusing their attacks on Mark who had gotten to the scene before me. He had two Pokemon next to him doing their best to take down the Pidgeys.

I recognized the Pokemon as a Shellos and a Dwebble. The Shellos was knocking down the Pidgeys with Water Pulse while the Dwebble crushed them with Rock Blast. Since most of the Pidgeys were keeping the other trainer busy, I went to deal with the few that were still focusing on the family.

"Shade!" I called out.

Shade appeared in front of me and quickly spotted the problem. He stood tensed, ready for my commands.

I pointed to the Pidgeys still pecking the family. "Bite!"

He ran towards the Pidgeys and leaped at the one closest to him, bitting it in mid air. He brought it down and began shaking it as it tried to Peck at him. The rest of the Pidgeys flew up high and focused their attention on Shade. He finally bit down hard enough to kill the one in his jaw and spit out the corpse. I ordered him to attack the others but they were too high for any of his attacks to reach them. They remained just out of reach and kept sending Gust attacks that Shade did his best to dodge. Finally, I just ordered him to defend the family on the ground instead of trying to attack the Pidgeys.

"Thunder Wave!" a voice cried out.

Dozens of small bolts of electricity flew at the Pidgeys. The electricity didn't hurt any of them, but some began sparking and fell to the ground as they became paralyzed. I turned to look in the direction that the Thunder Wave came from. I saw a Pachirisu with Jessica standing slightly behind it.

"Don't just stand there!" she yelled to me. "Take care of the ones we bring down!"

I immediately ordered Shade to Bite the ones on the ground. Since they were still being affected by the paralysis, he was able to easily take them out. Jessica's Pachirisu kept sending Thunder Wave at the remaining Pidgeys and bringing them down for Shade to finish off. Once we were done we went to help Mark finish the rest off. When there were only a handful of them left they decided that enough was enough and flew away.

Jessica and I rushed over to check the family while Mark kept an eye on the retreating Pidgeys. The parents had the worst injuries as they were doing there best to cover their child.

"You'll be alright," she told them. "I called emergency services to send over an ambulance before I left the station. They should be here soon."

Meanwhile I was doing my best to calm their child. I had mostly succeeded by the time the paramedics made it to us. We helped the paramedics load up the family on stretchers. They then rushed the family to their ambulance to take them to the nearest hospital. Once the ambulance was gone, Jessica turned to us.

"Good work you two," she told us. She then turned to Mark. "Did you see where they were heading?" she asked him.

"South," he responded.

She nodded. "I'll go radio the stations in that direction to have them on alert. Just in case those Pidgeys decide to land in a different part of the city state instead of going back to the wilds. Jacob, come with me back to the station to get some supplies to clean up this mess," she told me as she motioned to all the corpses of Pidgeys all around us. I noticed Shade eyeing some of the corpses. "Mark, keep this area secure until we come back," she told him.

"Got it," Mark said.

I hesitantly pointed to one dead Pidgeys that Shade was staring at. "Can he feed on some of those?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Sure. That will be less Pidgeys for us to pick up."

"Help yourself," I told Shade.

He immediately began tearing into one of the Pidgeys. Jessica and Mark both recalled their Pokemon. Jessica and I headed back to the guard station. Once Mark was out of earshot she began speaking.

"Listen," she said. "You did well handling the situation back there. Defending civilians in such a situation should always be first priority. But, as I made it to the scene I noticed that your Pokemon was having trouble with the Pidgeys. They could hit him from up in the air but your Pokemon could not hit them. That left both him and the civilians open to long range attacks while you couldn't hit them back."

She stopped talking for a moment to let that sink in.

"Let me ask you something," she continued. "What attack commands have you trained your Pokemon to respond to?"

"Shade knows Tackle, Bite, Sand-Attack and Assurance," I answered. "We're still working on assurance though. It's not as strong as it could be."

"So he only knows three close range attack commands and one close range status affecting attack command," she said. "Can you see the problem here?"

I nodded reluctantly.

"You need to either teach Shade some long range attacks or capture another Pokemon that has some," she said. "You should also try to teach him some better status affecting attacks. Sand-Attack is only good at close range and is useless if there is no sand or loose dirt for you to use. It shouldn't be hard for you to teach him some more useful ones. I guarantee you that Shade already knows Howl and Odor Sleuth. He would have learned those two as a pup from his pack. You just haven't taught him to respond to those commands."

"I didn't think about that," I admitted. "You're right. I wasn't prepared. I should have made sure Shade was ready to deal with different situations."

"No real harm done," she said. "It's just something for you to consider before accepting your next mission. Like I said, you handled the situation well despite your handicap."

"Thanks," I told her.

We made it back to the guard station. The first thing Jessica did was use the radio to alert the guard stations south of us of the remaining Pidgeys flying in their direction. The other stations told her that they would keep and eye out to make sure the flying Pokemon wouldn't land in their areas. After she was done, she moved to a closet and took out a large roll of garbage bags and two shovels. We left the station and went back to the spot where the Pidgeys were.

Mark was just standing there watching Shade eat a Pidgey.

"That's his third one," he told me. "Any more and he will be to full to even more."

"No more for you," I told Shade.

His ears drooped and he began eating the Pidgey more slowly. We began shoveling the corpses into the garbage bags as he was finishing up. Once we were all done I recalled Shade and Mark and I went to toss the filled bags into the dumpster while Jessica went back to the station to return the supplies. There was still about 30 minutes left on our shift so we did one more quick patrol around the park to check for any more problems. Civilians were just starting to carefully reenter the park. We went back to the guard station just before our shift ended.

The next shift of trainers were already there waiting for their shift to start. Jessica was talking to one, explaining what happened on our shift. Once 2PM came Mark and me handed our radios over and wished them luck. Mark immediately said goodbye and took off. Jessica and I began walking to the train station.

"So," she began, "What did you think of your fist mission?"

"Not really what I expected," I answered. "Except for the incident with the Pidgeys, It was pretty easy. Are all D-rank missions like that?"

"More or less," she said. "For the most part D-ranks are low risk missions. Most of them are simple guard missions where we have to patrol a certain part of Asidia and keep the civilians safe. Normally we only deal with low level Pokemon like those Pidgeys. If any stronger Pokemon had made it this far into the city state, I would have handled it. If it was too hard for me to handle, we would have sent an emergency call for a higher rank trainer to come deal with it."

"Do we usually have to deal with wild Pokemon in every guard mission?" I asked her.

"Not every mission," she said. "There have been days where I've gone through a D-rank mission without encountering a single wild Pokemon. The gate and wall guards usually take care of any before they enter the city state. It's mainly small, sneaky or Flying Pokemon that make it past them that we have to deal with this far in."

"That's good to know," I said.

"Wait until you reach C-rank," she continued. "I normally only take on one C-rank every couple of weeks or so. D-ranks may pay less but I'm less likely to be killed on one. It's almost a given that you will run into wild Pokemon out on a C-rank, even the C-ranks that you have to complete within the city state."

"Muliere did tell me that not all missions you take within the city state were D-rank," I remarked. "What kind of C-rank missions are normally available to take within the city state?"

"The sewer missions," she answered promptly. "This is a fairly large city state and there is a large network of sewer tunnels underneath. The sewer company has to go regularly down into the sewers to perform maintenance. Problem is, wild Pokemon can easily enter the sewers from the pipelines that remove waste from the city state. There are almost daily mission requests for trainers to escort sewer workers into the sewers to protect them while they work. Once a week they request several trainers to go down and clear out as many wild Pokemon as they can, but those are B-rank missions."

"Huh," I said. "What about C-rank missions outside the wall?"

"The are many different kinds of C-rank missions you can take outside the wall," she said. "There are escort missions were you guard workers such as woodcutters and miners while they collect materials that can't be produced within the city state. There are the missions were you yourself have to go out and collect something from the wilds. There are even Pokemon catching missions."

"Pokemon catching missions"" I asked.

She nodded. "There are some wild Pokemon that have various uses either for the city state or for the private sector. I had one such mission a couple of months ago. I accepted a mission from a leatherworker to go out and capture some Stantler. The mission called for me to capture a minimum of three Stantler. After that, each additional Stantler would earn me bonus pay. I brought in seven so I earned the $150 standard pay for completing the mission plus $30 each for the rest."

"So you made $270 on one C-rank mission," I said. "That's pretty good."

She scowled. "The leatherworker most likely sold the Stantler meat to a butcher once he finished skinning them. Exotic foods cost more than food produced within the city state. He most likely made back what he paid me for the mission plus interest."

I didn't know what else to say. We continued walking in silence. Once we reached to station she spoke up again.

"I have some errands to run before I head over to collect my pay," she said. "Just take a magnet train to the mission office in central district. Talk to a teller there to report your mission complete. They will deposit your pay directly into your trainer account."

"Alright," I said.

"It was nice meeting you Jacob," she said. "I hope we work another shift together someday. Good luck with your other missions. Just remember what we talked about earlier about your Pokemon's attacks."

"I will," I responded. "Thanks for all your help today. I hope we work together again too. Bye."

"Goodbye," she said and walked away.

I boarded a magnet train and headed to the mission office to report my completed mission. As I was sitting in the train, I kept thinking about Jessica's advice and the training session with Hugo and Ginnette I had planed.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Group Training

I took the magnet train to the station closest to the mission office. The office was located in a small building near City Hall. Inside, I saw five stations with some old trainers sitting behind computers. There was a short line of trainers waiting in front of the teller stations. I waited in line as one by one the trainers in front of me were called up to an available teller. The line moved quickly and in a few minutes I was called forward.

"Next," one teller said.

I walked up to the teller and waited.

"Name and rank," she stated.

"Jacob Singleton. Rank D," I told her.

She typed some keys on the computer and stared at the screen for a few seconds. Once she was done reading what was on the screen she turned to look directly at me.

"It says here that you took on your first mission as a Pokemon trainer today," she told me. "Mission results?"

"Mission complete," I said.

"Any problems on your mission?" she asked.

I explained what happened with the Pidgeys and the family that was injured.

She nodded. "You completed your mission and kept the civilians from receiving any serious injuries. Good job on your first mission. The standard pay of $50 will be placed into your trainer account. Keep up the good work rookie." I thanked her and left the mission office. It was almost 3PM.

"I should have enough time to go to the Center and prepare for the training session with Hugo and Ginnette," I thought.

I took a magnet train back to the trainer district and quickly went to the Pokemart. I asked the trainer behind the register for help and he showed me everything that I was looking to buy.

"One small bag of dry food for Shade, $5," I thought. "One small bag of dried fruit, $5. One pair of those special sound attack nullifying earplugs, $20. Total comes out to $30. That's more than half of my mission pay. Good thing trainers don't pay taxes."

I paid for my supplies and decided to look around a bit since I still had some time before I had to meet Hugo and Ginnette. The Pokemart was divided into sections. There was one section that sold Pokemon food supplies. One Section sold food supplies for humans. There was also a section which sold some sturdy clothes and other supplies for traveling and camping.

There were two locked glass cases in the back of the Pokemart. One case kept medicine locked up. The other section kept different models of Pokedex. Finally, there was the class case behind the register which held pokeballs.

"Basic Potion, $300. Basic Pokeball, $200. Cheapest model of Pokedex, $200. No wonder these are kept locked up," I thought. "I would have to complete at least four D-rank missions before I could buy even one of these. It's a good thing they let us keep the medicine and Pokeballs that were left over from the Ordeal."

Ten minutes before 4PM I headed to the cafeteria to wait for Hugo and Ginnette. I was sitting alone for five minutes before they arrived together. I stood up as they were walking up to me and greeted them.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," they responded.

"We don't have many hours of daylight left," I told them. "Let's head over to the training grounds."

They both nodded and followed me out of the Center. As we began searching for a suitable training ground Ginnette asked me how my mission went.

"It was uneventful for the most part," I told them.

"For the most part?" Hugo asked.

I nodded. "About a hour before my shift ended a flock of wild Pidgeys showed up at the park."

"What happened?" Ginnette asked. "Did the Pidgeys injure anyone?"

"They attacked and injured a family," I said. "We killed off most of the Pidgeys and the rest flew away. The family survived and were rushed to a hospital."

"Damn," Hugo said. "Your first mission and already you had to deal with wild Pokemon. At least you completed the mission easily."

"Not as easily as you think," I admitted. "Shade doesn't know any long range attacks. Since the Pidgeys could fly that meant that he couldn't hit them when they flew out of range. If the supervising trainer hadn't knocked most of them to the ground Shade and I would have been unable to do much to protect the civilians."

"What are you going to do to fix that problem?" Hugo asked. "Are you going to teach Shade some long range attacks or just catch another Pokemon? You do have another pokeball."

"I'm going to do both," I said. "I'm not just going to forget about Shade. I have a feeling that he's going to end up being my most loyal Pokemon. I'll continue to train him to become stronger and to be able to handle most kinds of missions. Eventually I'm going to catch more Pokemon but I haven't really thought about what I'm going to capture."

"What long range attacks do you intend to teach him," Ginnette asked.

"I thought about it on my way back from the mission office," I told them. "There are three long range attacks that Poochyena can learn relatively easy. Snarl, Hidden Power, and Shadow Ball. Snarl would be the easiest one that Shade can learn since it's a Dark type attack. Shadow Ball would be the most difficult since Shade would have to learn how to draw in some of the spiritual energy that Ghost types use to perform their attacks. Hidden Power should be somewhere in between."

"Which one are you going to try to teach him first?" Hugo asked.

"I'm inclined to try Hidden Power first," I said. "It should be easier that teaching him Shadow Ball and should give Shade some diversity in his attacks. Hidden Power can be of any Pokemon type of energy and each different Pokemon can have a different type of Hidden Power, even if they are the same species. I'm hoping that Shade will have a very useful Hidden Power type."

"How will you know the type Shade's Hidden Power will be?" Ginnette asked.

"I'll have to wait until Shade learns how to draw the hidden energy from within," I said. "The color of the energy will show its type."

"Are you going to start trying to teach it to him tonight," Hugo asked.

"No," I said. "His Assurance still needs work. I'm going to have him train on that attack tonight and maybe tomorrow. I don't have a mission lined up for tomorrow since I plan on going to visit my family. I'll come straight to the training grounds as soon as I wake up and work on teaching him Hidden Power until it's time for me to go."

We kept walking for a few more minutes until we came to a large mountain training ground. There was a small sized man made mountain with a long cave going from one side of the mountain to he other. We could see over a dozen practice dummies, some on top of the mountain and others spread out around it.

"This looks good," I said. "Let's train here."

They both agreed with me and we began setting up for training. I put down my pack and turned to Hugo.

"Keep your Zubat in his pokeball for now," I told him. "He's going to need the most work so let's set up Shade and Ginnette's Hoppip first."

"Fine," he said. He stepped away from us and crossed his arms.

"Shade!" I called out.

He materialized from his pokeball and waited for orders.

"We're going to practice your Assurance attack," I told him. I pointed to one dummy at the edge of the training ground. "I want you to keep hitting that target with Assurance until I tell you to stop. Keep trying to increase the Dark energy until you hit the target and release it all at once. Understand?"

He barked once and trotted over to stand a few feet in front of the dummy. We watched as he stood still for a moment before running towards it. His body began to glow with a dark light as he was running before he tackled it. The dark light flared dimly and disappeared. The dummy only shook a bit.

"Keep at it," I told him.

He barked again and moved into position to repeat the process. I watched him try it one more time before I turned to Ginnette.

"Call out your Hoppip," I told her.

She pulled out her pokeball.

"Go Tumbleweed!" she called.

The pokeball opened and released the Hoppip from inside. He appeared flying in front of Ginnette. He looked around once before flying slow circles around us.

"Tumbleweed?" Hugo asked with a laugh.

Ginnette blushed. "What?" she asked him hotly. "It's a cute name!"

"A cute name for a vicious monster," he remarked.

"I have him mostly tamed," she told him. "Do you see him trying to attack any of us?"

"It's a good name," I interjected before the argument continued. "As long as he responds to it the name doesn't matter."

"He responds to it," she said. "Watch."

She turned to her Pokemon and held out her hands.

"Tumbleweed," she told him. "Come here."

The Hoppip turned to look at her before flying over to her. He landed in her hand and she started to pet the top of his head.

"Impressive," I told her. "You really do have him tamed. Have you tried to teach him any attack commands?"

"Not yet," she said. "Until now I've only worried about getting him to listen to me and not try to attack me. I know that he knows at least Tackle and Poison Powder. He kept trying to hit me with them every time I let him out of his pokeball."

"What about food?" I asked her. "What have you been feeding him?"

"He is very easy to feed," she told me. "I just have to make sure that he drinks some water and eats some rich dark soil. After that he just has to sit out in the sun while he photosynthesizes his food."

"Impressive," I said again. "Well, lets start working on teaching him some attack commands. Tackle will be very easy since he already knows it. Just go over to one of the practice dummies and order him to Tackle it. Once he does, call him back to you and have him do it again. This way he gets used to attacking on command and he starts strengthening his Tackle attack at the same time. We can work on Poison Powder after he practices Tackle for a while. Then we can see if he can release any of the other powder based attacks."

"Its that simple?" she asked me.

"You already did all the hard work," I told her. "Once you actually get him to listen to you it's mostly down hill from there. Getting him to try to learn an attack that he doesn't know yet is a little hard but can be done with time and patience."

She nodded to me and took her Hoppip over to a practice dummy. I watched as she explained to her Hoppip what she wanted and he flew over to hover in front of the dummy. She then called out for him to Tackle the dummy and he flew forward at increasing speeds until he rammed into it. The dummy shook a bit but not as much as when Shade did a full bodied Tackle.

"Keep at it," I told her. She nodded.

I finally turned to Hugo. He had been standing silently watching while I helped Ginnette. I could see a bit a resentment in his eyes before he hid the emotion.

"Your turn," I told him.

He pulled out his pokeball.

"Wait," I told him before he called out his Zubat.

He stood waiting as I moved over to my backpack. I opened it and took out the earplugs and the bag of dried fruit I bought.

"Here," I told him as I tried to hand them to him.

He did not take the items from me. He just stood starring at them for a moment. He finally looked at me. I could see some anger in his eyes.

"What the hell is this?" he asked me.

"I bought these for you," I told him.

"I don't need your charity," he said.

"I'm not giving you charity," I said. "I owe you a can of Repel remember? These together don't cost as much as a small can but the can wasn't full anyway. I figure we can call it even with these."

He continued to stare at me for a long moment. Then he stared at the items in my hands. Eventually he reached over to take them from me.

"Fine," he said. "We're even."

I nodded to him. I stood there as he took out the earplugs and tried them on. Then he opened the back of dried fruit and looked inside.

"The earplugs I understand," he told me. "But why the fruit?"

"You told me that every time you released your Zubat he confused you with Supersonic then tried to bite you," I began. "I'm betting that he's trying to use Leech Life on you to feed. It's been days since you caught him and he hasn't eaten since. He must be on the brink of dying of starvation by this point. It's not the method that I would have chosen but you can use his hunger to try to tame him."

"So what do you suggest I do?" he asked.

"Follow me," I told him.

I led him away from where Shade and Ginnette were training. Once we were far enough that they would be out of the line of fire but I could still see them I stopped.

"This is a good spot," I said. "This is what you're going to do. You're going to release your Zubat and once he tries to confuse you and bite you I want you to hold out a piece of the dried fruit. If he doesn't stop, call him back into his pokeball before he bites you. If he does stop, wait and see if he will take the fruit out of your hand. Remember you can't show any sign of fear. He'll sense that and might try to attack you anyway."

"Then what?" he asked.

"If he does take the fruit," I continued, "offer him another piece and try to get him to land on your other arm. Try petting him at that point while speaking to him the entire time. This way he gets used to you and starts seeing you as his source of food. After that, you just have to make it clear to him that he has to start earning his food by following your orders."

He thought about that for a moment. "That is actually a really good idea," he admitted reluctantly.

"Don't sound too surprised," I said sarcastically.

He started laughing. "Alright," he said. "Let's give it a try." He put in the earplugs and stuck the opened bag of dried fruit in his pocket. He took out one piece of fruit and held it in one hand while he held the pokeball in the other hand.

"Wait," I said. I moved back a few feet. I stood slightly behind a practice dummy to try to stay out of line of sight. "I don't have any earplugs remember," I told him when he looked at me questioningly.

He nodded at that. Once he saw that I was ready he took a breath to steady himself and released his Zubat. Everything happened very fast. The Zubat was barely materialized before he screeched and sent out visible sound waves at Hugo. Even though I was standing behind the Zubat a few feet I still was affected by the Supersonic a little. My vision became a bit blurry and I had to hold on to the practice dummy to steady myself. Hugo didn't even flinch. He just stood staring at the Zubat and watched it as it began to dive for him . When the Zubat was halfway to him he held out the hand that had the piece of fruit in it.

The Zubat instantly stopped in mid air. We watched as it hovered in front of Hugo visibly sniffing in the direction of his hand. After a few seconds he slowly flew closer to Hugo until he was close enough to snatch the fruit in his hand. He then flew up high and began eating the fruit. Before he even finished with the first piece, Hugo reached into his pocket and took out another piece of fruit and held it out. He also held out his other arm in front of his open hand and waited.

The Zubat finished the first piece and started sniffing the air again. Hugo just stood still waiting for the Pokemon's next move. After a long moment he finally flew down and landed on Hugo's arm. He snatched up the second piece and ate it as he remained sitting on the arm. Hugo just took out another piece and waited for the Pokemon to finish. Once he swallowed the fruit, Hugo offered him the third piece. Once the Zubat took this piece Hugo moved his hand to pet the Pokemon's back.

The Zubat froze once he felt the hand petting him. He didn't make any movements as Hugo continued to pet him. After a moment, he continued to eat slowly. Once he was done, Hugo took out another piece and offered to him. He turned to look at me when his Pokemon took that piece.

I gave him a thumbs up. "Start talking to him," I mouthed to Hugo.

He nodded to me and turned back to the Zubat. He began to pet him again and started talking to him.

I watched them for a moment before walking away to give them some privacy. I walked back to the others and saw Shade and Tumbleweed still working on their attacks. Ginnette stood watching me instead of her Pokemon.

"Wow," she said once I reached her. "I saw the whole thing. I didn't think he would make any progress with that thing. You're a really good teacher."

I shrugged. "I've just been lucky so far," I told her.

"It's not all luck," she insisted. "You have some real talent when it comes to training Pokemon."

"Maybe," was all I said.

We turned to look at our Pokemon. Tumbleweed was hitting the dummy a bit harder. I could see it shaking a bit more than it was before. Shade had made some real progress as well. I watched as he hit the dummy with Assurance again. This time when he landed the hit the dark light surrounding him flared brighter than before. The dummy shook harder and I could see tiny cracks forming on it.

"They've both made good progress," I told Ginnette.

"You really think so?" she asked.

"Definitely," I told her. "I think we should try some new attack commands."

"If you're sure," she said. "I trust you."

I nodded and turned to Shade. "Shade!" I called. "Come!"

"Tumbleweed!" Ginnette called. "Come here!"

Both Pokemon stopped and moved towards us. They stopped once they were a couple of feet in front of us.

I thought for a moment on what we could try. "We're going to practice Howl," I told Shade. He cocked his head at me.

"He doesn't know how to howl?" Ginnette asked me.

"I'm not talking about the howls that Poochyena use to communicate with their pack," I told her. "I'm talking about the status affecting Howl that slightly increases a Pokemon's strength. It temporarily makes their physical attacks stronger."

"Oh," she said. "Shouldn't he know that one too."

"He should," I agreed. "I just need to teach him to use it on command."

I crouched down in front of Shade and tried to explain what I wanted him to do. When I was done I stood and moved back a bit.

"Ready Shade?" I asked him.

He barked and waited.

"Shade," I said. "Use Howl."

Shade threw up his head and let loose a loud howl. Once he was done he stood staring at me. We could see no visible difference.

"I don't think he understood what you wanted," Ginnette said.

"No," I agreed.

I crouched down to speak to him again. "No Shade," I told him. He cocked his head again. "That's the howl you use when you want to call the pack. When I say use Howl, I want you to use the one that makes you stronger. Understand?"

He barked again and waited for my command.

I stood up and moved back again.

"Shade," I said. "Use Howl."

This time I knew he got it right. The Howl he released sounded much deeper than before. Once he stopped howling and stood staring at me I could almost feel the difference. I could not explain it but Shade just seemed stronger.

"I guess he got it that time," Ginnette said.

"Yep," I said happily. I pointed to one of the practice dummy. "Shade, use Assurance!"

Shade took off running towards the dummy. He began to glow again as he was running. Once he reached his target he rammed into it hard. The glow flared brightly then vanished. The dummy shook hard for a few seconds. I walked up to it and inspected it. Shade's pumped up Assurance made a large crack in the wood. I turned back to Shade.

"That was excellent Shade," I told him.

He barked happily.

I moved over to my backpack and took out the bag of dry food. I opened it and put a handful on the ground in front of Shade.

"You've earned this," I said. "No more training for today. Just eat and relax until we're ready to leave."

He barked again and dug into his meal.

I walked back over to Ginnette and Tumbleweed.

"Let's start working on that Poison Powder," I told them.

"Ok," Ginnette said.

"Hoppip," Tumbleweed said.

I looked at the Hoppip. "I'll take that for an agreement," I said. I turned to Ginnette. "You said that he tried to use Poison Powder on you before so we know he knows that already. Also, Pokemon that naturally learn powder based attacks usually learn them all around the same time. It's likely that he knows Stun Store and Sleep Powder already. You'll have to try to get him to use them to know for sure."

"Alright," she said.

"First, let's move away from Shade," I said.

We walked away from where Shade was eating until we were several feet away. I checked to see the direction the wind was blowing and made sure Shade was not downwind from us.

"Alright," I said. "I think we're good here." I turned to Ginnette. "Have Tumbleweed move a few feet away from us. Make sure he's downwind from us and Shade. I don't want to have to use some of our medicine if we accidentally inhale the powder. Tell him to wait in the spot you choose and have him fly in a small circle and release the Poison Power when you give the command. Understand?"

"Understood," she said. She spoke to Tumbleweed for a moment and explained what she wanted. Once she was sure that he understood she had him fly a few feet away from us and wait for her command. She turned back to me.

"We're ready," she said.

I checked the wind again before nodding. "Let's do this," I told her.

She turned back to Tumbleweed. "Tumbleweed!" she called. "Poison Powder!"

Tumbleweed began to fly in small circles. Before he finished the first circle he began to release sparkling purple powder from his body. As the powder fell to the ground I could see the grass it fell on turn brown and shrivel up.

"Good job Tumbleweed!" Ginnette said. "You can stop now!"

Tumbleweed stopped flying in circles and the Poison Power stopped coming out of his body. He floated in the spot waiting for the next command.

"Let's see if he knows Stun Spore or Sleep Powder," I told Ginnette.

She nodded and spoke to Tumbleweed. "Tumbleweed," she began. "When I say use Stun Spore, I want you to try to release the powder that paralyzes instead of poisons. Understand?"

"Hoppip," was all he said.

"Alright then," she said. "Tumbleweed, use Stun Spore!"

Tumbleweed began flying in small circles again. He began to release sparkling orange powder as he was flying.

"Good Tumbleweed," she said. "You can stop."

He stopped and waited. Ginnette turned to look at me. I glanced up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set.

"Let's try Sleep Powder then call it a day," I said.

Ginnette nodded and turned back to Tumbleweed. "Tumbleweed," she said. "When I say use Sleep Powder, I want you to try to release the powder that puts humans and Pokemon to sleep. Understand?"

"Hoppip," he said. "Hoppip, Hoppip."

"That didn't sound like an agreement," I noted. "Give it a try."

"Tumbleweed!" Ginnette called. "Use Sleep Powder."

This time he did not begin flying in circles. Instead, he flew down and landed on the ground.

"I guess he hasn't learned it yet," I told her.

"I guess not," she said. She looked disappointed.

"Don't worry," I told her. "He should be able to learn Sleep Powder easily. I bet if you come out here tomorrow and work on it for a while he'll get it."

She nodded. I glance up at the sky again.

"The sun is almost down," I said. "Let's go get Hugo and head back to the Center."

She agreed with me. We both called back our Pokemon and moved to the spot where Hugo was working with his Zubat. We saw him sitting on the ground petting and talking to his Pokemon. When he saw us I made a wrap it up motion and pointed to the sky. He looked up and nodded. He spoke to the Zubat for a moment before calling it back into his pokeball. The Pokemon did not struggle as he was returned.

"I see you made a lot of progress today," I told him as he stood to join us.

"We came to an agreement," He said. "We're going to work on attack commands tomorrow."

"Good," I said.

"I guess this means you wont be retaking your Ordeal," Ginnette stated.

"You guess right," he said. "Bitey and I are partners now."

"Bitey?" Ginnette and I both asked.

"That's his name," he said.

Ginnette started laughing. "And you were laughing at Tumbleweed's name," she said.

"It's a good name for him," Hugo said defensively.

"It is," I agreed.

Ginnette just kept laughing for a bit as we started walking back to the Center. Once she finally stopped I spoke up.

"Do you two want to come with me again tomorrow morning for some more group training?" I asked.

They both thought about it for a moment. Finally, Hugo shook his head.

"No," he said. "Not that I don't appreciate all your help. I'm sure I would never have been able to tame Bitey without it, but I want to work on his attacks by myself. I need to prove to him and myself that I'm capable as a trainer."

"I can respect that," I said. We walked in silence for a bit. "Since you're finally making some progress as a trainer, are you going to contact your mother now? You still haven't spoken to her yet since the Selection Day right?"

He hesitated for a moment. "I think I'll wait until I reach D-rank and complete my first mission. I want to be able to send her some money to help her and my sisters."

"The longer you put it off," I said, "the worse it will be when you finally do speak to her."

"I know this," he said abruptly.

I let it go. I turned to Ginnette who was strangely quiet. Suddenly I remembered that her family had disowned her.

"Sorry," I apologized to her. "I forgot about your family."

She stopped and glared at me. "Why are you apologizing to me?" she asked hotly. "You didn't disown me, they did. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for."

Hugo gave a short laugh. "Yeah," he said. "That is a very annoying habit of yours."

"Sorry," I said again.

Ginnette just rolled her eyes while Hugo snorted. I decided to change the subject.

"So you didn't answer my question," I told her. "Do you want to train with me in the morning tomorrow?"

"No," she said after a moment. "I'm going to get up early and go to the Gym. I want to take my D-rank exam."

Hugo and I both stopped to look at her. She turned to look back at us.

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

She nodded. "I'm ready," she said. "Tumbleweed listens to what I say and obeys my attack commands. That's the first part of the exam right there. He can follow simple directions. That's the second part."

"What about the third part," Hugo asked.

"I'm pretty sure that Tumbleweed is so mellow that he won't even blink if Muliere tries that fake attack like he did on Jacob's exam," she said. "Even if he changes it around a bit I'm confident that I can control Tumbleweed in a stressful situation."

I thought back on Tumbleweed's behavior from our training session. "You know what? I think your right. You should have no problem passing," I told her.

She smiled at me.

"Well that's great," Hugo said sourly. "I'll have to wait for at least another day before I can take my exam. I still have to work on Bitey's attacks before I can take it."

"That's fine," I told him. "Don't rush it. Just make sure you two are ready so you pass it the first time."

"You're right," he told me. "I don't want to have to retake it. I want to start taking missions as soon as possible."

We reached the Center well after sun down. Ginnette and Hugo said they were going to bed. I told them that I would go in a few minutes. I just wanted to take care of something first. They said goodnight and entered the barracks. I entered the computer room and logged on.

Since I was going to use tomorrow to train and visit my family I decided to look for a mission for the day after. I went through all the D-rank requests and once again chose a city state requested mission.

Mission Rank: D

Reward: $50

Location: Southern Gate

Summary: Trainer needed for the afternoon shift to guard the Southern Gate. Must deal with any wild Pokemon that are spotted trying to enter the city state. Must take note of anyone that leaves the city state and report it if they do not return on the agreed time. Must make sure that no civilians exit the city without trainer escort. If any foreigner comes up to the gate, their papers must be checked and the foreigner must be registered and given a temporary pass to enter the city state. Trainer must report to the Southern Gate By 2PM. Shift will end at 7PM.

After reading through the mission I decided to take it. I accepted the mission and received confirmation. Once I was done I logged off and went to bed. As I was laying in bed I kept thinking about my upcoming visit to my family. I had a feeling that my visit would not end pleasantly.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Family Visit

The three of us woke up early the next morning to begin our day. We had breakfast together then left the Center. Ginnette split from us once we were outside. She wished us luck on our training then headed straight for the Gym. Hugo and I walked through the training grounds together before he wished me luck and left in a different direction. I kept walking until I came up to a small empty rock field training ground. There were three practice dummies spread out among many different sized rocks. Some of the rocks were actually boulders bigger then me. I decided that this would be a good place to train today. I set down my backpack and pulled out Shade's pokeball.

"Shade!" I called.

He appeared in front of me and gave a long yawn. Once he was done he shook himself and stood staring at me. I reached into my backpack for the bag of dry food and a bottle of water. I set down a handful of the food on the ground in front of him.

"Eat up," I told him. "We're doing a different kind of training today and you'll need your strength."

I waited for him to eat his food. When he was done, I poured some water in my hand and let him drink. When he had his fill I put the rest of the water away and stood facing him.

"Today you're going to try to learn an attack called Hidden Power," I told him. "Listen very carefully. This attack will be harder for you to learn than any of the ones you've learned so far. Try your best but don't be disappointed if you have trouble with it. I expect that it will take a few hours before you're even able to form the energy of the attack. Understand?"

He barked an affirmative.

"Good," I said. "This is what I want you to do. When I tell you to start, I want you to close your eyes and look inside you to try to find the energy you have buried deep inside. You know what your Dark type energy feels like. This energy will feel completely different from that energy. Just try to focus within to find the energy that you're not familiar with. Do you understand?"

He barked again.

"Good," I said. "Once you find that hidden energy I want you to let me know that you found it. I'll be waiting right here. Don't become distracted by anything happening around you unless I call your name. Alright?"

He barked a third time.

"Alright then," I said. "Start."

Shade closed his eyes and stood still. I sat down on a big rock to wait him out. We stood in those positions as I watched Shade standing still with his eyes closed. A hour passed and he still hadn't moved.

"I should have brought something to read," I thought.

I stood up and walked around the training ground to stretch my legs a bit. Shade didn't seem to notice my movements. Once we reached the two hour mark I decided to give him a quick break. I took the water from my backpack and called his name to get his attention. When he opened his eyes to look at me I poured some water in my hands and offered it to him. He rushed over to me and drank it all up quickly. I let him lay down for a while to rest a bit before I sent him back into position to continue his training.

We continued this for another hour or so. At one point Shade suddenly tipped over and fell on the ground. I jumped and ran over to check him. I placed my hand on him and could feel his slow breathing.

"Unbelievable," I thought. "He fell asleep."

"Shade!" I yelled.

He gave a jolt and woke up. He quickly stood up and looked at me with his ears drooped down.

"What was that?" I asked. "You're supposed to be trying to learn a new attack not sleep on your feet. Get your head in the game."

He whined at me before getting back in position. I shook my head and sat back down as he went back to training. A little over a half a hour had passed before he gave a surprised yelp. I quickly stood up and walked over to him.

"Shade?" I asked. "Did you find the energy?"

He barked an affirmative.

"Excellent!" I exclaimed. "Now for the next part of the training."

He stood at attention.

"I want you to find the energy again and try to draw it out just like you draw out your Dark type energy when you use Assurance," I told him. "Once you draw it out I want you to hold it until I tell you to stop. Understood?"

He barked.

"Alright," I said. "Start now."

He closed his eyes and started to focus within again. After a few minutes his body began to glow with bright green energy.

"Bright green," I thought slightly disappointed. "So Shade has a Grass type Hidden Power. That wont be very effective against flying types. Oh well, it's still a long range attack that will be very effective against Ground, Rock and Water Pokemon. Once he becomes proficient in Hidden Power I'll just teach him Snarl to deal with Flying types."

"That's good Shade," I told him. "Great job. You can stop now."

He stopped and laid down panting.

"Take a quick break before we move on to the final part," I said.

I let him rest for about 15 minutes before I told him to follow me. I led him to one of the practice dummies and we stopped a few feet away from it.

"Now it's time for you to learn how to actually launch the Hidden Power," I told him. "When I say to start, call up the hidden energy again and this time try to form it into the shape of a ball right in front of you. Once you have the ball of energy formed, try to release it so it flies forward and hits the target. Understand?"

He barked.

"Alright," I said. "Start then."

He closed his eyes and began to focus. I noticed that he was able to call up the Grass type energy much quicker than before. However, he was having trouble gathering the energy away from his body. Instead, his body continued to glow bright green as he tried to form a ball of energy.

"Keep at it," I encouraged.

He kept this up for a while with no success. Finally, after trying many times, the bright green glow vanished from around his body and an orb of bright green energy appeared in front of him.

"Good Shade!" I exclaimed. "That is your Hidden Power attack. Whenever I tell you to use Hidden Power, I want you to create a ball of energy like that and launch it at your target. Try doing so now at the dummy."

He focused on the orb. A few seconds later it launched forward but missed the practice dummy. It hit a rock instead and broke it into smaller pieces.

"Good try," I said. "Keep trying to hit the dummy with Hidden Power. Also, try to form the attack quicker each time."

He barked and began trying to hit the dummy over and over again. Each attempt he made I could see him forming the Hidden Power faster than before and his aim improving. Finally, one of his Hidden Power attacks hit his target. The practice dummy shook a bit but no visible cracks appeared on the wood.

"That makes sense," I thought. "After all, Grass types resist Grass type attacks. Let's try something different."

"Shade," I said. "Do you see those three big rocks over there?"

He looked over at the rocks I was pointing at then looked back at me.

"Use Hidden Power on the rock in the middle," I told him.

He turned to face the three rocks and quickly formed another Hidden Power. He launched it at the middle rock and it slammed into it. Small pieces broke off and cracks appeared on the large rock.

"Good," I said. "Let's try something else. This time I want you to split the ball of energy into two balls and launch them at the two outer rocks."

It did not take Shade long to figure out how to split the energy ball. A couple of minutes after he formed a single orb, he split the energy and formed two smaller orbs. He launched the orbs at the two outer rocks. One orb hit its target dead center. The other gave it a glancing hit. I walked up to the rock that received a direct hit. There were cracks in the rock but not as many as the ones in the center rock. I walked back to Shade.

"Try hitting all three at once this time," I told him. "Watch the aim."

He quickly formed another Hidden Power and split the large orb in three much smaller orbs. He launched the orbs at the rocks and hit all three, although only the rock in the middle was hit dead center. I walked up to inspect all three rocks and noticed that there were fewer, smaller cracks on all three rocks.

"We should probably not try to divide the Hidden Power into more than three orbs," I thought. "It will do little to no damage if we do." I walked back over to Shade.

"You did and excellent job training today Shade," I told him. "We're going to stop at this point. I have to be heading back soon anyway."

I took out some more food and the last of the water and gave it to him. He dug in and finished both quickly. Once he was done I recalled him to his pokeball and gathered my things. It was time to head back to the Center to get ready for my family visit.

I made it back to the Center and got ready to go see my family. Once I was ready, I left the Center and went to the train station. I boarded a magnet train and headed to District Six. This would be my first time going to my old home district since Selection Day. I became more and more nervous the closer I got to my destination.

Eventually I made it to the station closest to my old house. I disembarked and began walking the rest of the way. As I walked through my old home district I looked around at the familiar surroundings. Nothing had changed from what I could see. The closer I got to my old house the more I saw familiar faces of old neighbors. I even saw some people that I used to go to school with. Most of the people either ignored me or quickly left the area when they saw me.

When I finally made it to my family's home I was nothing but a bundle of nerves. I just stood in front of the door for several minutes. Finally, I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later I heard the door unlock and it opened to reveal my mother. We just stood staring at each other for a moment.

"Hi mom," I finally said.

She rushed forward and gave me hug. I quickly hugged her back.

"Welcome home," she said after we separated.

"Jacob!" I heard just before my brother lunged at me. He hugged me tightly as I tried to steady us. I did my best to get him to let me go but he held on. Finally I just gave in and let him hug me.

"Bobby," my mother said. "Let him go and both of you come inside. Dinner is almost ready and I'm sure Jacob wants to say hello to your father."

Bobby let me go and we entered the house. We found my father sitting in the living room. He stood up when he saw me and offered me his hand.

"Hello Jacob," he said.

"Hi dad," I said.

"Sit down," my mother told us. "Dinner will be ready soon. I'll call you when it's done."

My father, Bobby and I sat down as my mother went to the kitchen. There was silence among us for a moment. Eventually, my father broke the silence.

"How have you been?" he asked me.

"Surprisingly good," I answered. "I'm a D-rank trainer now and completed my first mission yesterday."

"That's good..." he said hesitantly.

"Jacob," my brother said. He didn't say anything else. I got the feeling he was struggling with something.

"Yeah Bobby?" I asked him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" I asked.

"You're a trainer now because of me," he said. "You wouldn't have volunteered if I wasn't chosen."

"Don't apologize for that," I told him. "It's my job as your big brother to look after you. I wasn't about to let anything bad happen to you if I could prevent it."

"You did the right thing," my father said.

"Thank's dad," I said.

"Dinner is ready!" my mother called us.

We all went to the dinning room and began eating the meal my mother had prepared. I had to admit to myself, the thing I missed most about being a civilian was my mother's cooking. My mother kept offering me more helpings and I gladly took more. Throughout the meal we talked about light topics. Mostly, we talked about my parents jobs, how Bobby was doing in school and some small gossip about the neighbors. We did not mention anything involving Pokemon as we ate.

Once we were done we quickly took the dirty dishes and leftovers to the kitchen. After that we all went back to the living room for coffee and dessert. We kept up the conversation from before. When there was a lull in the conversation Bobby spoke up.

"How many Pokemon do you have Jacob?" he asked.

My mother and I both looked at him in surprise. My father tensed.

"Just one," I told him after an awkward silence. "I just have the Pokemon I caught on my Ordeal for now. He's a Poochyena named Shade."

"Can I see him?" he asked me.

"Bobby," my mother said. "That might not be a good idea."

My father just sat in silence.

"He's tame right?" Bobby asked. "He wont attack us?"

"He's tame," I told him. "He wont do anything unless I tell him to."

"Then it's okay for you to release him for a bit," he said. "He wont try anything."

I looked at Bobby for a moment then at my parents. My mother just stared at me unsure of what to do. My father wouldn't look at me.

After a long moment, I pulled Shade's pokeball out of my pocket and released him.

"Shade!" I called.

My parents both stood and backed away as soon as the pokeball opened. Bobby just sat entranced as Shade materialized in the middle of the living room. Shade looked around and sniffed the air. He then turned to me.

"Shade," I told him. "These are my parents and my brother. They're pack."

Shade immediately moved to where Bobby was sitting and began to sniff him. Bobby just sat there looking excited.

"Can I pet him?" Bobby asked.

"Sure," I said.

Bobby reached out to pet Shade's head. Shade closed his eyes and began wagging his tail. He let Bobby pet him for couple of minutes before moving to my mother. He began sniffing her as he did with Bobby. My mother looked ready to bolt any second. Shade sat down in front of my mother and stared at her. She looked at me.

"It's alright," I told her.

My mother hesitantly reached down to pet Shade. He wagged his tail like he did with Bobby. Once she stopped petting him he moved on to my father. He began sniffing my father for a few seconds then began backing away from him. He started to growl as he looked at my father.

"Shade!" I yelled at him. "Stop that!"

Shade stopped growling but kept his eyes on my father. My father just looked back at Shade blankly. I decided to recall Shade at this point.

"Shade return," I said.

He was sucked back into his pokeball. Once I put the pokeball away another awkward silence filled the room. Finally I glanced at the clock on the wall and excused myself.

"It's getting late," I said. "I should get going. I have another mission tomorrow. I want to get a good nights sleep."

"We should be getting ready for bed as well," my mother said. "I'm glad that you came to visit us. You need to come over for dinner whenever you have free time. I have to make sure you're eating well."

"I will when I can," I told her.

"Can I see Shade again the next time you come," Bobby asked.

"Sure," I told him.

My father said nothing to me. I stood to leave.

"I'm going now," I said. "I'll keep in touch."

"I'll walk you out," my father finally said.

I looked at him. "Alright," I said.

I said my goodbyes to my mother and Bobby and followed my father out of the house. He closed the door behind him when we were both outside.

"I don't want you to come back here," he told me.

"What?" I asked. "Why? I thought you were okay with me being a trainer?"

"I thought I was," he responded. "But I'm not. I can't handle this."

"What's the problem?" I asked him.

"What's the problem? You just released a Pokemon in the middle of my living room!" he yelled. "What if he had attacked me! He could have attacked your mother or Bobby!"

"He wouldn't have attacked any of you!" I yelled back.

"He growled at me!" he yelled.

I tried to calm down. "He was just reacting to your negative emotions," I told him. "If you can just learn to accept me as I am now I'm sure he'll accept you."

"I don't want to accept either one of you," he said. "Did you see the look on Bobby's face as he was petting that monster? He was excited. I don't want him to start thinking of Pokemon as pets. What happens if one day he comes across a wild Pokemon and tries to befriend it?"

"Bobby has more common sense than that," I said.

"I can't take that chance," he said. "I've already lost one son to Pokemon. I'm not going got lose another."

"You haven't lost me," I told him.

"Yes I have," he said. "I don't want to ever see you in this house again."

We just stared at each other for a moment. Finally, I nodded to him.

"Fine," I said. "I won't come back here again. But I'm not going to just turn my back on mom or Bobby. I'm going to keep messaging them and calling them when I can."

He looked like he was about to start yelling at me again. He stopped himself and thought for a moment.

"Fine," he said. "But whenever your mother or Bobby ask you to come for a visit I want you to make up whatever excuse you can think of to avoid coming. If you keep putting it off long enough they will stop asking eventually."

"Fine," I said again. "I'm going now. Tell mom that I'll contact her in a few days. Goodbye."

I turned and began to walk away from him. Once I was a few feet away he spoke up again.

"I didn't want it to come to this," he said.

I just kept walking.

I made it back to the Center in a daze. I could not even remember walking to the train station and taking a magnet train back to the trainer district. I stood in front of the Center for a while before I steeled myself and entered. I asked Annabelle if she knew were Hugo and Ginnette where and she told me to check the Lounge. I went to the Lounge and found them sitting on a couch in a corner of the room. They were talking excitedly. I made my way to them and sat in a chair in front of them.

"Hey," I greeted them.

"Hi," they both said.

Ginnette took a good look at my face and frowned.

"Are you alright?" she asked me.

"I'm fine," I told her.

"Liar," Hugo said. "We can tell something is bothering you. What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," I insisted.

The just stared at me.

"You went to see your family today right?" Hugo asked. "I take it that things didn't go well."

I almost snapped at him. I stopped myself and took a deep breath. I wasn't their fault that my father all but disowned me.

"My father is not handling me being a trainer well," I admitted. "He told me that I wasn't welcome in his house again."

"What about your mother and brother?" Ginnette asked.

"My mother was understandably worried about me but accepted that this was my life now," I told the. "Bobby surprised me. He asked me to show him Shade and even petted him. Before I became a trainer he would have been too terrified to even go near a Pokemon."

"It's good that they can accept you at least," Hugo said. "Shame about your father."

"Yeah," I said.

I decided to change to subject. I turned to Ginnette.

"So?" I asked her.

"So what?" she asked teasingly.

"Your exam," I told her. "How did it go?"

She took out her trainer card and showed it to me. It had D-Rank stamped on the front.

"Congratulations," I told her. "Was it easy?"

"Yes it was," she said. "The first part went exactly like your exam went. Muliere changed around the second and third parts a bit but Tumbleweed and I were still able to pass them."

"Congratulations," I said again. I turned to Hugo. "How did your day go?" I asked him.

"Great," he said. "I'm ready for my exam. I trained Bitey all day today. He should be able to pass all three parts with no problem. I'm getting up early tomorrow to go to the Gym."

"Good luck tomorrow," I told him. "I'm sure you'll pass."

"Thanks," he said. "How did you're training with Shade today go?"

"We'll, he learned Hidden Power," I told them. "But it's a Grass type Hidden Power so it wont be very useful against Flying types. I'm going to try to teach him Snarl next. That way he has a long range attack that Flying types can't resist."

"Maybe we can hang out tomorrow after my exam," Hugo said. "We can both work on our Pokemon's attacks together."

"I have a mission tomorrow afternoon," I said. "We can hang out once I'm done with my mission if you want."

"I have a mission tomorrow afternoon too," Ginnette said. "I signed up for my first mission as soon as I was done with my exam. I want to start earning money right away so I can save up to get my own place."

"What kind of mission is it?" I asked. "I signed up for gate guard duty. I'm on the afternoon guard shift at the southern gate tomorrow."

"It's actually a civilian requested mission," she said. "A family in District Four is throwing their son a birthday party in one of the public parks in that district. They wanted another trainer on top of the park's guard patrol for safety. The mission request was posted a few days ago. I'm surprised it was still available."

"I'm not," Hugo said. "I doubt many trainers would want to sit around watching families having fun and eating good food while they stood guard over them. If I were you I would bring some lunch for when you get hungry. It's unlikely that the family that hired you will provide you with any food."

"I didn't think about that," she said looking a little down.

"Don't worry about it," I told her. "It should be a simple first mission for you. If a wild Pokemon does attack your clients, the guard patrols will most likely show up to help you deal with it if you can't by yourself. Just don't leave the families you're guarding alone if there is a problem in another part to the park. Your mission is to protect the families at the party not the park."

"I understand," she said. "Should I have Tumbleweed out in case of an attack?"

I shook my head. "No," I told her. "He would most likely scare the families and ruin the birthday party. Only call him out if you actually need him."

"Alright," she said.

"It's getting late," I said. "We should probably get to bed."

"Your right," Hugo said. "I'm getting up early to go to the Gym anyway. I want to get plenty of sleep."

"Me too," Ginnette said. "Even if it is in the afternoon, I want to make sure I'm well rested for my mission."

We left the Lounge and entered the barracks. I quickly changed and went to bed. I had trouble sleeping that night. All I could think about was my father and everything he said to me that day.

"Maybe one day he can learn to accept me," I thought. "Maybe."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Second Mission

My second mission was scheduled for 2PM so I decided to sleep in. I also thought that Shade needed a break from training. I finally got up about two hours before my shift started and got ready to leave. Hugo was already gone. He was probably in the middle of taking his exam. When I asked around the Center for Ginnette, some other trainers told me that she left earlier.

I ate breakfast in the cafeteria then went outside to feed Shade. I just stood against the wall as he ate his food. I could not stop thinking about my visit with to family yesterday.

"Let it go," I told myself. "Being upset about it wont change the situation. At least mom and Bobby can accept me. Be happy with that."

Shade finished his meal and I recalled him. With nothing better to do, I decided to head over to the southern gate. I took a magnet train to the station closest to the gate. I had 40 minutes to spare so I made my way slowly. There were two trainers standing near the gate talking. I could also see two other trainers. One was sitting in a station next to the gate manning the gate controls and radio. The other one was sitting in a much smaller station on top of the wall. The one in the lookout station was facing out into the wilds and periodically using binoculars to check the area near the gate.

I walked up to the two trainers that were standing near the gate. They turned to look at me when they spotted me.

"Hello," I said. "I'm Trainer Jacob Singleton. I'm here for the afternoon guard shift."

"You're early rookie," one of them said. "We have about 20 minutes before the shift change. I'm Fred. I'm a B-rank trainer and in charge of our shift. This is Jack," he said as he pointed to the other trainer. "He is in charge of this shift."

"Hey," was all Jack said.

"Hi," I said.

"So rookie," Fred began. "How are you liking being a Pokemon trainer so far. You completed your first mission already right? How was it?"

"It went well," I said. "It was a guard patrol mission at the Public park in District Five. We only had one small issue to deal with."

"So you've done a guard mission already," he said. "Good. Guarding a gate is not much different from patrolling a park. There is a minimum of three trainers just like in a park patrol, one supervisor and at least two lower rank trainers. I'll be in the control station with one of you while you and the other trainer switch off manning the lookout every hour. Our mission is simple. We mainly keep track of whom is coming or going through the gate. Trainers can come and go whenever they want. Civilians can't go out into the wilds unless they have a trainer escort. Sometimes we get trade caravans, diplomats or visitors from other city states. I'm in charge of checking their papers and allowing them entry."

Jack finally spoke up when Fred paused. "We also have to be on the lookout for any wild Pokemon that might try to enter the city state. The trainer on lookout has to keep a constant watch on the area directly in front to the gate. If any wild Pokemon comes too close to the gate or the wall we have to go out to deal with them."

"Lastly," Fred continued. "We have to periodically check in on the lookout stations that are spread throughout the southern part of the wall. There are lookout stations spread out at roughly one mile intervals throughout the wall surrounding the city state. Each one is manned by a trainer keeping watch on the area outside that part of the wall."

"I haven't seen any mission requests for the lookout stations yet," I remarked.

"Not surprising," Jack said. "Those missions are usually all snatched up days in advance. They're a favorite mission for the washout trainers."

"Washout trainers?" I asked.

"That's what those of us in the middle and higher ranks call the trainers that remain D-rank for their entire career," Fred said. "Most of us did not choose to be trainers and many have no desire to go up in rank. The washouts are the ones that try to live off D-rank missions until they can retire from active duty and apply for a job at the trainer district or the mission office. Very few of us actually try to make the best of the situation and work on taking better paying missions. The higher you go up in rank the less trainers are in that rank. Less that half of the trainers who are chosen on Selection Day and pass their Ordeals actually reach C-rank or higher."

"It's probably a good thing that there are so many washout trainers," Jack said. "Each gate, public park, guard station and lookout station has four shifts. The morning, afternoon, evening and night shifts. Each lookout station and guard station is manned by one trainer and each gate and park guard shift requires three trainers minimum. There aren't enough serious D-rank trainers and C-rank trainers who can handle all those requests."

I thought about Mark, the other D-rank trainer on my first mission. He had made it clear that he had no desire to go beyond D-rank.

"He must be one of the washouts that they're talking about," I thought. "I'm not going to let that happen to me. I won't be a washout."

"The washout trainers always try to take the least dangerous missions that are available," Fred continued. "That's why you haven't seen any lookout missions requests. They consider them safe, easy missions. They don't have to actually deal with Pokemon. They just have to keep watch and report any wild Pokemon that enter or try to enter the city state. I mean, they can deal with them if they believe that their Pokemon can handle the situation but most don't. Most let the mission office send an emergency mission request to the Center for an available trainer to go deal with the wild Pokemon."

"Cowards," Jack spat. "While they are relatively safe in the lookout waiting for a trainer to answer the emergency request the wild Pokemon could be causing property damage or even attacking civilians. I hate having to deal with washouts."

"Me too," Fred agreed. "They tend to be too morose for my taste."

Jack checked the time. "You may have to deal with one today," he said. "It's almost time for shift change and your other subordinate isn't here yet. I'm betting its a washout that will come at the last minute."

Fred frowned but didn't disagree. Jack went into the control station to finish up his shift. Fred and I spoke a bit more as we were waiting for the shift change. A minute before 2PM the other trainer finally walked up to us. He introduced himself but didn't say anything else. Fred checked his watch pointedly. The other trainer just shrugged.

It was finally time for our shift to start and Jack wished us luck before leaving with his subordinates. Fred had the other trainer take the first hour on the lookout and led me into the control station.

"Definitely a washout," Fred told me when we sat down in the station.

He gave me a quick tutorial on how to use the gate controls and the radio. After that we just sat talking as we waited for something to happen. Half an hour into the shift Fred used the radio to contact the lookout stations that reported to this gate station. So far they all reported no problems. We had to open the gate two times before the first hour was up. Once was to let out a trainer who wanted to go hunting with his Pokemon. The other time was to let a civilian and his trainer escort go out into the wilds. Fred spoke to them and took note of both instances.

"I guess it's time for you to switch places with the washout," he sighed after an hour.

The other trainer and I switched off for the second hour. I climbed up the ladder to the lookout station and sat down. There was a small radio in the lookout and a pair of binoculars. I spent the second hour staring out into the wilds south of Asidia. Several times I spotted wild Pokemon near the gate and reported it to Fred. He opened the gate and went out to deal with it himself. I had a fealing he was just using it as an excuse to get away from the other trainer for a bit.

The trainer who had gone out hunting earlier came back before my hour was up. When he reached the front of the gate, I signaled down and Fred opened the gate and let him back into the city after verifying his identity. The civilian who had left earlier with an escort did not return during my hour in the lookout. Fred said that if they didn't return before our shift was up we would have to report it to the mission office.

The rest of the shift passed by in the same manner. I kept switching off with the other D-rank trainer every hour. We each took 30 minute breaks halfway through the shift. I stayed in the gate control station during my break talking to Fred.

Occasionally we had to open the gate to let some trainer leave the city state as well as let them back in. I also went out a couple of times myself to deal with some of the wild Pokemon that we spotted near the gate. I took the oportunity to see how effective Shade's new Hidden Power attack was against the wild Pokemon.

The first Pokemon I went out to deal with was a Buneary. Shade hit it with Hidden Power twice before it did not get back up. I walked up to check it and saw that it was still breathing. I ordered Shade to finish it off with Bite and he quickly bit down on its throat, killing it instantly. I allowed him to eat the remains quickly before I went back inside.

The second time I went out was when we spotted a Sandshrew. It must have been either very young or very weak as a single Hidden Power from Shade killed it.

The were only two other noteworthy incidents that occurred in our shift. The first was when the civilian and his escort eventually returned an hour before shift change. They both looked a little roughed up but otherwise okay. The second incident was when one of the other lookout stations reported seeing a flock of Spearow fly over the gate towards District Eleven. Fred radioed the guard stations in that part of the city state to have them on alert if the Spearow landed. He also informed the mission office to be ready incase any civilians called emergency services because of a Spearow attack.

The time finally came for us the switch off with the next guard shift. The other D-rank trainer took off as soon as it was 7PM. Fred and I hung around for a few minutes to chat with the next shift and tell them how our shift went. After that we wished them luck and left for the mission office to report our mission completions.

We took a magnet train to the central district together. Throughout the ride we spoke about different missions that he completed and the requirements that had to be met to take the C-rank exam.

"It will take some time before you're eligible for your next promotion exam," he told me. "There are three minimum requirements you have to meet before the Gym Leader will even consider you. First, you need to have at least one year of experience as a D-rank trainer. Second, you need to have at least 128 mission completions. They don't all have to be D-rank missions either. If you team up with a C-rank trainer to help him on his mission then that will count. Last, you need to have a minimum of two tamed Pokemon. You can have the maximum you are allowed to own for your rank but only two of them will be tested."

I thought about it for a minute. "Earlier Jack said that there were some serious trainers that were still in my rank," I stated. "Why haven't they been promoted yet if they actually try to succeed as a trainer? Most of them should have met the requirements to take the C-rank exam if they became trainers years before I did."

"Many of the serious D-rank trainers wait until they feel they are ready for the next rank," he answered. "They choose to wait for more than the required year to gain extra experience. Most would also rather have the maximum number of trained Pokemon they are allowed before they enter C-rank. After all, one or both of your Pokemon could be killed on a mission and that would leave you with no Pokemon to take missions with or to help you capture more. You would have to go out into the wilds alone like you did on your Ordeal to try to catch one to replace the ones you lost."

We continued talking until we reached the central district and went to the mission office. We waited in line for the tellers to call us forward. Eventually we were both called and we reported our missions completed. The tellers noted the completions and had our pay deposited into our accounts. Once we were done we went outside where Fred told he was meeting some friends in the commercial district. He wished me luck and said that he hoped we would work together again in the future. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I went to the train station and headed back to the trainer district.

When I arrived back to the trainer district the first thing I did was try to find Hugo and Ginnette. Ginnette hadn't returned yet from her first mission but I found Hugo in the computer room. He was sitting at a computer station staring intently at the screen.

"Hey," I greeted him.

He swiveled in his chair to look at me. "Hey," he responded cheerfully.

I stared at him for a second. "Do I even have to ask?"

He grinned and pulled out his trainer card. It had D-rank stamped on the front.

"Congratulations," I said. "How did it go?"

"Other than me being a bit nervous it went well," he said. "Muliere was busy this morning so I had to wait until he was ready. By the time he was ready to test me there were some higher rank trainers in the gym training. Most of them stopped to watch me take my exam."

"Ouch," I winced. "I'm glad I didn't have an audience. I probably would have been so nervous that I wouldn't have stopped Shade from attacking Muliere in time."

"I actually almost failed the third part," he admitted. "The audience made Bitey nervous and he almost didn't listen to me when Muliere tested me on that part."

"You passed," I told him. "That's what matters."

I sat down at the computer station next to his and logged on. I started looking at the available D-rank missions for the next few days.

"Are you looking up mission requests for tomorrow?" I asked him.

"Yes," he answered. "There aren't a lot to choose from but I definitely want to start taking missions tomorrow."

"It is kind of last minute to accept missions for tomorrow," I said. "The only ones left are probably the least desirable ones."

"You're probably right," he admitted. "I'm debating on accepting a mission manning a guard station in a public area. It's a pretty simple mission. I just have to remain in the station by myself and keep and eye out for wild Pokemon. I'm supposed to report in to the mission office every 30 minutes even if there is nothing to report. If a wild Pokemon does enter the area I'm watching then I either deal with it or have the mission office send another trainer to deal with it."

"It sounds like a very simple mission," I said. "What's the problem?"

"The guard station is in District Nine," he said. "It's actually not to far from the residential building where my family lives."

"Ah," I said.

"Yeah," he responded.

I thought about it for a moment. "You should take it anyway," I told him. "Maybe being in your old stomping grounds will give you the courage to go face your mother."

"Maybe," he said.

"You told me before that she would accept you after she had time to get used to the idea of you being a trainer," I reminded him.

"You told me that both of your parents accepted you," he reminded me. "It didn't quite work out for you. I'm worried that the same will happen to me."

"You won't know until you speak to her," I said.

"I guess," he said. "Fine, I'll take the mission. Once I'm done with my shift tomorrow I'll go straight to her home to visit her and my sisters."

"I hope thing work out for you," I told him.

"Me too," he said.

I watched him accept the mission and receive confirmation. Once he was done I brought up a new subject. "Have you heard from Ginnette today?"

"Not yet," he responded. "I'm sure she'll make an appearance soon. I want to know how her first mission went."

"Me too," I said. "Hope she didn't have any problems."

"Yeah," he said. "Are you going to try to accept a mission for tomorrow?"

I shook my head. "No," I said. "I'm looking up missions for the day after tomorrow. I've decided to take the days between each mission to either rest or train. Three or four missions each week should be good for me to be able to rent my own place when I decide its time to move out of the and one bedroom apartments in the trainer district cant be that expensive."

"In District Nine the studios cost between $300 to $600 hundred a month," he told me. "If it's the same here then you should have just enough for rent and food. There wont be much left for over for anything else if you only take three of four mission each week."

"True," I said. "But remember, trainers don't pay for utilities. I'll be able to save some money for clothes and trainer supplies. I just have to budget until I make C-rank and can take higher paying missions."

"Your choice," he said. "I'm going to try to take on at least five missions each week myself. That should give me plenty to be able to afford my own place, food, trainer supplies, and even send some money to my mother."

"Missions five days a week with only two for rest or training might be a bit much," I remarked. "You'll burn yourself out."

"I'll manage," he said.

"If you're sure," I said. "You know, we could get a place together and split the cost."

"No," he said instantly. "I've had to share a small place for years since my mother moved us to District Nine. I want my own space."

"Alright," I said.

We were both quiet for a bit after that. I kept going through the available missions that were still available for the day after tomorrow until I stopped at one that caught my interest.

Mission Rank: D

Reward: $50

Location: District Eleven, Section A

Summary: Trainer needed for the morning shift to patrol Section A in District Eleven. Must be ready to deal any wild Pokemon that enter the district and protect the farmers and crops. Farmer safety is top priority. Keeping wild Pokemon away from the crops is secondary priority. Shift begins at 8AM and ends at 2PM.

"Check this out," I told Hugo.

He moved his chair to read over my shoulder.

"District Eleven?" he asked. "Isn't that the agricultural district?"

I nodded. "It's were the city state produces most of the food that we eat," I told him. "All of that food must draw a lot of wild Pokemon to that district. It's the second largest district in the city state. They must have a lot of trainers patrolling the farms every day. I'll bet at least half of the mission requests for that district are C or B-rank missions. There must be a good chance of the food drawing stronger wild Pokemon. Any D-rank requests are probably just to make sure that there are enough trainers to patrol all the farms."

"That makes sense," he said.

"There you are," a voice called out from the door.

We both turned and to see Ginnette enter the room. She was carrying a paper bag in her hands. Based on the smell I could tell that there was food in the bag.

"We were wondering were you where," I told her. "Your mission couldn't have taken that long."

"It didn't," she said.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"Let's go outside," she said. "I brought us all food. We can talk while we eat."

"You shouldn't have bought us anything," I told her. "You just got paid for your first mission today and you said you wanted to save up to rent your own place."

"It's only some fast food burgers and fries," she said. "I didn't spend a lot and I actually received a little extra money for my mission. Besides, I'm sure I'm not the only one that is sick of pre-packaged cold sandwiches and milk every day. You can get me lunch another day if it makes you feel better."

"Thanks," Hugo said. "I was getting hungry and already had my free meal hours ago."

I agreed reluctantly. "Fine," I said. "But I will pay you back."

"That's fine," she said.

I quickly accepted the mission and received confirmation. Then we went outside and dug into the food Ginnette bought us. I had to admit it was a nice change from the cafeteria food. After a few minutes of eating in silence Hugo spoke up.

"So how did it go today?" he asked. "And what did you mean when you said you received extra money?"

"I got to the park as they were setting up for the party," she began. "I reported in to the father of the birthday boy and he told me that my mission was to stay close enough to the party that I could step in if a wild Pokemon attacked but not close enough that I would bother any of the party goers."

"Pretty much what I told you yesterday," Hugo interjected.

"Hush," I told him. "Let her tell the story."

"Thanks," she told me before continuing. "I just sat at a nearby park bench watching as the party went on. Once in a while the trainers on patrol would stop by to check on me and talk for a bit. It was pretty boring until the time came to open the presents."

"What happened?" I asked.

"They were all so distracted by the present opening that none of them saw a Zigzagoon climb down from a tree and dart towards the table where the leftover food was," she said. "I spotted it and quickly sent out Tumbleweed. I had him fly over the Zigzagoon and drop Stun Spore on him. It had an immediate effect and the Zigzagoon was paralyzed. By this point the party goers saw it and began to panic."

"I had to yell at them that I had the situation under control," she continued. "They were just starting to calm down when I saw the Zigzagoon beginning to move slowly away from the table. I couldn't let it escape so I told Tumbleweed to fly over it again and drop Poison Powder on it. By the time the trainers patrolling the park ran up to the scene the Zigzagoon had already succumbed to the poison. It was dead within minutes."

"Wow," Hugo said.

"Well done," I said.

"Thanks," she said. "The trainers that were patrolling took care of the body so I didn't have to pick it up. The mother of the birthday boy was so grateful to me for stopping the Zigzagoon from ruining her son's party that she gave me $50 on top of what I received for completing the mission."

"Lucky," Hugo said enviously.

She smirked at him before continuing. "Once the party was over I went to the mission office and had them deposit my mission pay as well as the extra I got. I decided to go to the commercial district after that to get a few small items that I can't get here. Then I went and got food for us and came here."

"Good job on your first mission," I told her. "But don't get used to clients being as generous on future missions."

"I won't," she said. "I know better. I remember how my parents treated the trainers they hired once and a while."

We finished up the food and went back inside. Ginnette led us back into the computer room and logged on. We saw her bring up the available missions for the next few days.

"Are you going to try to sign up for a mission for tomorrow?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm looking at the missions for the day after tomorrow. I want to train Tumbleweed tomorrow. The only direct damage attack he knows is Tackle. I want to try to teach him something stronger. I also want to work on getting him to produce Sleep Powder. That way he'll know all three of the common powder based attacks."

"Other than Sleep Powder," I said, "what are you going to try to teach him?"

"I think I'll try to teach him Bullet Seed," she said. "That way he has an actual damaging Grass type attack to use against Rock types. He's part Flying type so Rock type attacks are very effective against him. If he is able to learn both attacks tomorrow before sunset, I'll get him started on learning Acrobatics so he has a Flying type attack."

"That sounds like a good plan," I told her. "Do you mind if I join you tomorrow? I was planning on training Shade too. I want him to learn Snarl that way he has a long range attack he can effectively use against Flying types."

"Sure," she said. "That sounds like fun." She turned to Hugo. "What about you? You want to come along too?"

"Sure," he said. "I have a mission in the afternoon but I can train with you guys in the morning until it's time for me to go."

"Sound like a plan," I said. "If we're going to get up early to train then we should get to bed soon. We should be well rested if we're training all day. Especially Hugo since he has a mission as well."

"Go on ahead," Ginnette said. "I'm just going to go through all the available missions before I pick one. I'll head to bed once I'm done."

"I'll keep you company," Hugo said.

"Okay," she said.

I said goodnight to both of them then went to bed. Tomorrow would be a busy day of training for us.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: New Developments

We were up early next morning for another group training session. After breakfast we headed straight for the training grounds. I let one of the others pick where we would train this time. After a small argument, Hugo let Ginnette pick the training ground we would use. She selected a large grassland training ground.

"This looks just like the field where I captured Tumbleweed," she told us.

"It looks like a good place to train," I said.

"Whatever," Hugo said. "Let's just get started. I don't have a too long before I have to start heading to District Nine."

We all called out our Pokemon. Tumbleweed flew lazy circles around Ginnette like he normally does. Bitey landed on Hugo's arm after he held it out. Shade bounded up to me as soon as he appeared and started barking at me.

"I know," I told him. "You didn't get a lot of time outside your pokeball yesterday. I'll make it up to you today. We'll train half of the day then I'll let you wander the training grounds later."

"How did you know what he meant?" Ginnette asked me.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said. "I just seem to be able to get what he's saying."

"I think you're full of it," Hugo said.

Ginnette glared at him. "Nobody asked you for your opinion," she said.

I interrupted before he had a chance to retort. "Let's not fight," I said. "We came out here to train, remember? I want to get started soon."

"Fine," they said.

Before we began we decided to let our Pokemon eat breakfast first. Ginnette gave Tumbleweed some water and dug up some earth so he can photosynthesize his food. I gave Shade some of his dry food and water while Hugo gave Bitey the last of the dry fruit.

"Good thing I have a mission today," he said. "I need to get another bag of fruit."

"Or you can take him hunting," I suggested

"Or you can have him use Leech Life and feed on you," Ginnette teased.

"Funny," he told her sourly.

I turned to Hugo. "Ginnette and I already know what we're working on today. What are you going to be doing?"

"Come to think of it," Ginnette said. "You haven't even told us what attacks Bitey knows."

"He already knew Leech Life, Supersonic and Bite," he told us. "I just had to get him to listen to those commands. I also got him to learn Wing Attack. It was pretty easy to teach him that. I've decided to take a page out of your book and try to teach him Hidden Power. That will give him a bigger variety of attacks I hope."

"It took Shade a better part of a day to find his hidden energy," I told him. "Since you have a mission today, I wouldn't count on him learning today."

He shrugged. "I can at least get him started on it."

"True," I said. "I'll be here if you need any help."

"Thanks," he said.

Our Pokemon finished eating and we began training them. Ginnette began trying to teach Tumbleweed Sleep Powder while I helped Hugo get started on Hidden Power. He took my advice and sat with Bitey while he concentrated on finding his hidden energy. I watched them for a bit then moved to where Shade was watching. I leaned down to pet him.

"We're going to take it easy today buddy," I told him. "I only want you to try to learn Snarl attack today. Okay?"

He barked an affirmative.

"Alright," I said. "This should be a relatively easy attack for you to learn. It's partially a sound based attack and partially an energy based one. You already know how to draw your own Dark energy and you can use Howl so I figure you won't have a problem with this. I want you to try gathering your energy and release it from your mouth as you give a loud snarl. Understand?"

He barked again.

"Alright then," I said. "Let's get to it."

The first hour of training passed by quickly. It only took Shade three tries before he successfully released his first Snarl attack. Visible sound waves coated in Dark energy were released from Shade's mouth. Unfortunately, it was unfocused and not aimed at a general direction so it spread in a circle. The rest of us all got hit with it. Tumbleweed and Bitey were both knocked back while Ginnette, Hugo and I were brought to our knees. I could almost feel my internal organs shaking.

"Watch it Jacob!" Hugo yelled.

"Sorry!" I yelled back. "I didn't know it would do that! We'll work on aim now that he can actually do it."

He grumbled and went back to training Bitey. Ginnette gave me an encouraging smile and turned back to Tumbleweed. I turned back to Shade.

"Good work," I told him. "But you have to learn to aim at a specific target or area. Unless, of course, you are surrounded by enemies. In that case I want you to release the attack just like you just did."

He barked confirmation again.

I lead him away from the others for a few feet and stopped in front of a training dummy.

"Try Snarl again while aiming the energy towards the dummy," I told him.

It took him two tries this time. Just like the first time, he released the attack in a circle around him. Fortunately, I was the only one affected this time. Unfortunately, it took me a bit longer to shake off the attack this time. I guessed that the attack did more damage to your organs each time it was used on you without having a chance to recover. I stood up once I was steady again and move back several feet.

"Keep trying," I told him.

It took Shade several more tries before he successfully released a focused Snarl attack at the Dummy. I saw it shake for several seconds before it stopped with no visible damage.

"It didn't really do anything," a voice said behind me.

I turned around to see Ginnette standing behind me. Tumbleweed was standing on her left shoulder. They were both watching the training dummy Shade just attacked.

"I think it only affects living organisms," I told her. "Or nonliving in the case of Ghost types. It is supposed to be super effective against that type."

"It definitely affected us," she agreed.

"Yeah," I said. "What's up? Are you taking a break from training?"

"No," she said. "I just wanted to show you guys something but I didn't want to interrupt Hugo."

I glanced over to Hugo and saw him sitting totally focused on Bitey. I turned back to Ginnette.

"What did you want to show me?" I asked.

"Watch," she said. She turned to Tumbleweed. "Ready?"

In response Tumbleweed hopped of her shoulder. He flew a few feet away from us and began to hover in place.

"Sleep Powder!" she said.

Tumbleweed began flying in circles. Glittering blue powder began to fall from his body.

"He finally learned it!" I exclaimed.

"Yep," she said. "It took longer to learn than I would like to admit though. It took me almost two hours. I didn't think that this attack would give me so much trouble since Hoppip learn it naturally."

"Maybe individuals of any species of Pokemon can learn a different set of attacks," I suggested. "Or maybe they just learn them at their own pace."

"Either way," she said. "He finally learned it so we can move on to trying to learn Bullet Seed."

"Want some help?" I offered.

"What about Shade?" she asked.

"I only wanted to get him to learn Snarl today," I said. "I haven't really given it much thought to the next attack I want him to learn. I'll just get him to work on all the attacks he does know while I help you."

"Alright," she said. "If you're sure."

"Shade," I called him over. "I'm going to help Ginnette for a bit. Do you want to watch or do you want to practice your attacks to make them stronger?"

He thought about it for a moment before turning to the dummy. He barked at it then turned to look at me.

"Alright then," I said. "Start with Snarl. Keep using it on the dummy until you can hit it each try ten times. Then I want you to practice Tackle, Bite, Assurance and Hidden Power in that order. Hit the dummy ten times with each of them. After that I want you to stop and rest. That should be enough training for one day."

He barked again and began the practice session. Ginnette and I went back to were she was training before to work on Bullet Seed with Tumbleweed.

"Any ideas on getting him to learn it?" she asked me.

"No idea," I said. "I haven't looked at the specifics for that attack."

She thought about it for a moment. "From what I remember from the Pokedex app," she began, "he's supposed to somehow form the seeds inside his body and coat them in Grass type energy. Then he spits out several of them at his target."

"Interesting," I said.

"Hey," Hugo called out to us.

We turned to look at him. He walked up to us with Bitey sitting on his shoulder. He had an odd look in his eyes as he looked at us.

"Any luck?" I asked.

"No," he said. "But we're close, I can feel it. I have to get back to the Center though. I want to get ready to head over to District Nine. Don't want to be late for my first mission."

"Good idea," Ginnette said. "You shouldn't give the mission office a bad first impression of you. I hope your mission runs smoothly."

"Thanks," he said. "Are you two going to stay out here training some more?"

"Yes," Ginnette answered. "I finally got Tumbleweed to learn Sleep Powder. Jacob is going to help me teach him Bullet Seed."

"Okay," he said. That odd look was back.

"Why does that bother you?" I thought to myself.

"Well," he said. "I have to go. Good luck with your training."

We wished him luck on his mission and watched him go. I glanced over to Ginnette and saw her eyes lingering on Hugo as he walked away.

"Ah," I thought. "So that's the way the wind blows."

I thought back to every time I saw them both interacting with each other. Hugo's looks and Ginnette's teasing finally made sense.

"Should I help them along?" I thought. I shook my head mentally after a moment. "Better to let them figure it out themselves."

Ginnette and I turned back to Tumbleweed. We did our best to explain to him what it is we wanted him to do. He looked confused at first. We had to explain it a second time before we thought we got our point across. We stood watching as he landed on the ground and closed his eyes. Eventually his little body bloated up a bit and he spit a seed on the ground in front of him.

"Was that it?" Ginnette asked me.

"I doubt it," I said. "Bullet Seed is supposed to impact the target fast and hard isn't it?"

"You're right," she said. "And I didn't see the seed coated in Grass type energy either. He must have just spit out an ordinary seed."

"Huh," I said.

"What?" she asked.

"I wonder if we planted the seed would it eventually grow into another Hoppip," I said. "Isn't that how most plant-like Grass type Pokemon reproduce?"

"Yes it is," she said. "But only female Hoppip can form seeds that can produce more Hoppip. I read up on the species after I captured Tumbleweed. Male Hoppip mate with females and fertilize the seeds and the females find good spots to plant them. Most of the seeds don't get a chance to grow though. There are a lot of Pokemon that eat the seeds for their high nutritional content."

"I did not know that," I said.

"Anyway," she continued. "How do we get him to coat the seeds in Grass type energy?"

"It shouldn't be too hard," I said. "He knows how to concentrate his Grass type energy. That's how he produces Stun Spore and Sleep Powder. He just has to focus that energy on the seeds as he's producing them in his body."

We explained this to Tumbleweed. We watched him concentrate and attempt the attack again. This time the seed he produced shot out of his mouth and half buried itself into the ground. We could see that the part that was sticking out was glowing light green.

"Success," I said.

"Good job Tumbleweed!" she cheered.

"Hoppip," was all he said.

"He could at least look a little excited," I remarked. "I wonder if that lack of emotion is a Grass type trait. Or maybe it's common of the Grass types that are more plant-like and less animal-like."

"Who cares," she said happily. "He finally learned Bullet Seed!"

"Calm down," I said. "He only spit out one seed. He's supposed to be able to spit out several seeds once he's mastered the attack."

"Way to ruin my buzz," she said sourly.

I grinned. "Why don't you have him practice it on a training dummy?" I suggested. "Try to get him to produce the seeds more quickly and while flying. I'm sure he'll be able to produce more at a time the better he gets with the attack."

"Okay," she agreed.

"I'm going to go check Shade," I told her.

She nodded before leading Tumbleweed to a practice dummy. I went over to the dummy Shade was practicing on. Apparently he finished practicing all his attacks while I was helping Ginnette. He was wandering around the training ground while sniffing at the ground and occasionally digging in the dirt. I went to check the dummy and saw that the wood had many cracks in it.

"Shade," I called.

He came over to me.

"Good job," I told him. "No more training today. You deserve a good rest."

He barked happily and started wagging his tail. I gave him some food and water then we took a walk around the training ground.

"I'll need to make sure that I let him relax outside his pokeball for at least a couple of hours between missions," I thought as I watched him enjoy his freedom. "It's too bad I can't leave him out except in the training grounds. Maybe when I finally get my own place I can leave him out while we're inside."

After a hour Ginnette called me over. I watched as Tumbleweed used Bullet Seed again. This time he released three glowing seeds at the dummy. The impact caused it to shake for a few seconds.

"That's the most he's been able to produce so far," she said.

"Not bad," I said. "That should so some damage to most Pokemon. Especially Rock, Ground and Water types."

"I think I'll stop here," she said. "He's worked pretty hard today and deserves a rest."

"Good idea," I agreed. "I promised Shade I'd let him wander the training grounds after training. You want to join us?"

"That sounds fun," she agreed.

We walked around the training grounds while Shade explored and Tumbleweed flew around us. After of while of walking in silence she spoke up.

"How do you think Hugo is doing on his mission?" she asked.

I looked at her. She was staring down at the ground.

"It's a very simple mission," I told her. "I can't see him having any problems. I'm more worried about what's going to happen when he goes to see his mother after he's done."

"I forgot about that," she admitted. "I hope everything goes well with her."

"Me too," I said.

"It's hard when everyone you know and love turns their back on you," she said quietly.

I looked at her again. I almost made the mistake of apologizing again before I stopped myself. I thought about it for a moment before speaking.

"Do you think your parents will ever change their minds about you?" I asked.

"No," she said. "I don't. Do you think your father will ever change his mind?"

"I really hope so," I answered. "But I seriously doubt it."

"At least you have your mother and brother," she said. "You're lucky."

"I can't ever go back to visit them," I reminded her.

"Still," she said. "They support you and you can still contact them. That should count for something."

"I guess," I said. "I'm glad you were able to get passed being chosen and your family disowning you."

"Yeah," she said. "Me too."

I changed the subject. "I forgot to ask," I said. "Did you accept a mission for tomorrow? I know you and Hugo stayed a bit in the computer room last night while you went through the missions requests."

"I did," she said. "Gate guard duty for the morning shift at the north gate."

"Good thing Tumbleweed knows Bullet Seed now," I said. "There's a good chance that you'll have to deal with Rock types outside the north gate."

"That's why I wanted him to learn Bullet Seed before Acrobatics," she said. "I wanted to be prepared for tomorrow."

We walked in silence for a bit more.

"I was wondering," I began. "Are you going to go for a promotion when you're eligible for C-rank or are you going to remain D-rank until you retire."

"I'll take the exam when I think I'm ready," she responded. "I may not be upper class anymore but that doesn't mean I have to live like the lower class. I'm not going to survive on D-rank income."

"Good," I said. "I'm going to go up the ranks as much as I can and I'm sure Hugo will too. I'm glad that you wont end up a washout."

"A washout?" she asked me.

I explained to her everything that Fred and Jack said to me yesterday about D-rank missions and washout trainers. She thought about all of it for a moment.

"That makes sense," she said finally. "The fear of Pokemon is so widespread among the civilians that most of the chosen trainers would want to remain in the rank that will keep them relatively safe. Jack was right too, there aren't enough serious D-rank and C-rank trainers to take on all the daily D-rank mission requests. So in a way it's good that most don't advance."

"I guess," I said before glancing up at the sky. "Let's head back to the Center. I'm getting hungry and I want to wait for Hugo to come back to see how his day went."

"Okay," she agreed.

We both recalled our Pokemon and began walking back to the Center. By the time we got there the sun was starting to set. We went to the cafeteria and got some food. After we were done we just sat there talking for a while. About 30 minutes before the cafeteria closed Hugo finally showed up looking emotionally worn out. He quickly got some food and sat at our table. Ginnette and I let him eat in peace for a bit before Ginnette got the courage to speak up.

"So," she began. "How did it go?"

"Do you mean on my mission or with my mother?" he asked after a moment.

"Both," I said.

"Well," he began. "My mission went smoothly. It was a bit boring actually. No wild Pokemon made an appearance in my area during my shift. I did receive an alert that some Flying Pokemon flew over the wall but they didn't land near me. I had nothing to report to the mission office. It was an easy $50."

"That's good," I said. I paused for a moment. "What about your mother? Did you go see her?"

"I did," he said.

"And?" Ginnette asked. "How did it go?"

"Pretty much how I expected it to go," he responded. "As soon as she saw me she broke down crying. I had to calm her down. Then once she stopped crying she got angry. I did my best to explain my reasons to her over her yelling. When I finally got through to her she began quietly crying again. I began to explain again and she finally understood that I did what I thought was best for the whole family."

"So she's fine with you being a trainer then?" I asked.

"I wouldn't say she's fine with it," he said. "But she's definitely not going to disown me."

"That's good," I said.

"I'm happy for you," Ginnette said.

"Thanks," he said.

"What about your sisters?" I asked.

"They were really happy to see me," he said. "They were really worried for me and made me promise that nothing bad would happen to me on a mission. I promised them just to calm them down. I stayed for a little while. I left as they were about to begin eating dinner. I promised my mother I would send them money every week before I left. She said I didn't have to do that but I insisted she accept the money for my sisters' sake if nothing else."

"Then what?" Ginnette asked when he didn't continue.

"I went to the mission office to report my mission completed and the I came back here," he finished.

"Congratulations," I said. "This means that all the trainers in our year group have completed their first missions."

"All the trainers except Phillip," Hugo said. "Poor bastard."

"I forgot about Phillip," Ginnette said. "That could have happened to any of us. I get chills thinking about it."

"Well it didn't happen to us," I said. "Let's not dwell on it. We just have to move forward. No use letting the past weigh us down."

They agreed with me. We talked for a bit longer before I checked the time. It was getting late. I stood up.

"I'm heading to bed," I told them. "My next mission is in the morning. I'm looking forward to this one. Most civilians aren't allowed in the agricultural district. It should be interesting."

"I have to get up early for my mission too," Ginnette said as she stood up. She turned to Hugo. "Are you going to bed soon too?"

"I'm going to the computer room," he said. "There should still be a few missions available for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll find a more interesting one than my first one."

"So you're really going to attempt to take on at least five missions each week?" I asked him.

"Yes," he said. "I'm not just supporting myself. I'm going to help support my sisters. I need to complete as many missions as I can each week. It's too bad I can't accept more than one mission at a time."

"Well try not to stay up too late," I said. "If you do accept a mission then you'll need to be rested."

"I wont," he said.

Ginnette and I said goodnight to him. He said goodnight and went to the computer room. I changed and got into bed. I was asleep in minutes.

Ginnette and I both got up early the next morning and got ready for our missions. Hugo remained in bed. I hoped that meant that either he didn't find a mission or he accepted one in a later shift. I was truly worried that he would burn himself out if he took on too many missions each week. Ginnette and I ate a quick breakfast and then took a magnet train to our mission locations. I disembarked at a station near the entrance of District Eleven.

When I passed through the entrance I asked the first trainer I came across how to get to Section A and where to report in for my mission. He gave me some simple directions to get to the primary guard station for Section A. I made my way there with a few minutes to spare before my mission started. I came to a fairly large guard station that had about two dozen trainers waiting outside. I also saw a large group of civilians, obviously farmers, waiting near the guard station. As I made my way up to the other trainers I heard a vaguely familiar voice speak up.

"Jacob?"

I turned to the sound of the voice and saw an older female trainer walking towards me. I took me a second to recognize her.

"Jessica?" I asked.

She smiled. "Glad you remember your first supervisor," she said. "I guess we'll be working together again for this mission."

"Are you my supervisor for this mission too?" I asked.

She shook here head. "No," she said. "I'm only C-rank. This district is divided into three sections and each section has its own shift of at least ten trainers. The shift supervisor for each section is usually a B-rank trainer unless there's none available. Most of the trainers are C or B-rank. The mission office just requests D-rank trainers for missions in this district to shore up the numbers."

"I guessed as much," I said.

She checked the time. "You have only a couple of minutes to report in before you're late," she said. "Come on. Maxwell is this way."

"Maxwell," I thought as I followed her. "Could it be?"

Sure enough, Jessica led me to another familiar face. It was Maxwell, the B-rank trainer who helped us prepare for our Ordeals. He was staring at a clipboard in his hand occasionally marking on it.

"Max!" Jessica called. "Here's the last member of our shift."

He turned to look at me then looked at his watch. "Cutting it close there rookie," he said.

"Sorry sir," I said.

He grunted. "The night shift is just about done with their last walk through the fields. Once they're done, you and the others will go to your assigned fields while the farmers begin their work day."

"Hey Max," Jessica began. "I've worked with Jacob before. We have enough today to assign two trainers to each of the fields. Why don't you assign us together. I can show him the ropes."

He grunted again. "Fine," he said. He crossed something out and wrote something else down. "I was going to put him in the cabbage patch but I'll switch him to he corn field with you. Keep an eye on him."

He checked his watch again. "Listen up!" he called. All the trainers immediately stood at attention. "Our shift is about to start! Come up here for your assignments and head out to your fields! Don't forget your radios!"

The other trainers walked up to him for their assignments. I also noticed the farmers make their way to the fields. Jessica grabbed two radios and turned to me. She handed me a radio.

"We have our assignment already," she told me. "Let's head over to the corn field."

I followed her through Section A. I took note of the different fields we passed through. I seemed that each field either grew one kind of vegetable or a group of similar vegetables. Eventually we reached the large corn field. There were already farmers working on it. Jessica reached into her pockets and pulled out three pokeballs. She dropped the pokeballs and released the three Pokemon from within. I recognized the Pachirisu from my first mission. She also had a Sunflora and a Palpitoad.

"Call out your Pokemon," she said to me.

I hesitated. "What about the civilians?" I asked.

"The farmers might not like it but they understand the necessity," she said. "This is not like the normal guard missions. There is a reason that the mission office prefers middle rank trainers to work the missions in this district. With all this food we might as well have signs all over the place saying 'Free Buffet - Pokemon Welcome.' I promise you that you will encounter at least one wild Pokemon on this mission. Mostly we have to deal with Flying Pokemon but Rattatta are a big problem to. They can easily sneak into the city state and hide in the fields. It's best to just have your Pokemon out patrolling with you."

"I see," I said. I called out Shade. "Shade," I told him. "We're going to patrol this corn field." I pointed to Jessica's Pokemon. "These three Pokemon are on our side. If you see any sign of wild Pokemon I want you to howl to alert us. If it tries to escape then I want you to attack it. Aim to kill."

"You learn fast rookie," she said approvingly. She then turned to her Pokemon. "You know the drill," she told them. "Get to it."

All three of her Pokemon immediately turned and moved into the corn field. Shade followed them until I could no longer see any of them among the large stalks.

"Come on," Jessica said. "Let's patrol together for a bit while we talk."

"Okay," I said.

We moved through a path in the corn field, watching the farmers and occasional seeing one of our Pokemon move through the stalks.

"What do you know about District Eleven?" she asked me.

"Other that the fact that we get most of our food here nothing," I told her. "Civilians are not allowed to enter the district except for the farmers. I guess because there is higher risk of running into a Pokemon here than any other district."

She nodded. "Like I said," she began, "all of this food draws many Pokemon from the wilds into the city state. And not all the Pokemon are small or weak. We sometimes get larger or stronger wild Pokemon that manage to make it in here. Last time I took one of these missions we had to deal with a Fearow."

I shuddered at that.

"This district is divided into three sections," she continued. "Section A is where the city state grows its vegetables and herbs. Section B is where we have our fruit orchards. Finally, Section C is where we keep our livestock."

"Livestock?" I asked. "As in Pokemon?"

"Where did you think the city state gets most of the meat that we eat?" she asked. "We keep large numbers of seven different species of Pokemon in Section C. We have two large herds of Tauros and Miltank for beef and milk respectively. We have a large flock of Mareep for lamb and wool. There are several flocks of Torchic for chicken. There is also a drove of Tepig for pork. Finally, we have several artificial lakes filled with schools of Magikarp for fish."

"Wait," I interrupted. "Are these trained Pokemon or are they wild?"

"Well," she began. "None of them belong to any trainers so technically they are not trained Pokemon but neither are they really wild. They are semi tamed at best."

"If they are not completely tamed then what's to stop them from going on a rampage?" I asked. "That many Pokemon can cause a lot of damage to the city state."

"Undoubtedly," she said. "Which is why, except for the Magikarp, the farmers in that section give them feed that has been dosed with a drug every single day. This is a very special drug made from Stun Spore, Sleep Powder and several other substances. It keeps all the Pokemon very sluggish and docile without affecting the quality of the substance we get from them."

"Why not the Magikarp?" I asked.

"Well Magikarp is the weakest species of Pokemon known to man," she explained. "The drug is very expensive and hard to make. It would be a waste of resources to have them drugged when they're no real treat to the farmers."

"What if one of the Magikarp were to evolve?" I asked. "Gyarados is one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the world."

"None of the Pokemon in that section can evolve," she said. "Tauros and Miltank don't have evolved forms so they are not a problem. As for the rest, all the areas that they are kept in are filled with everstones. The radiation from the everstones keep them from evolving."

"Huh," I said. "Do we even need to patrol Section C then? It sounds like the drugs and the everstones keep anything bad from happening there."

"You would think so," she said. "But sometimes one of the Pokemon in that section develops an immunity to the drug and go on the aforementioned rampage. The trainers patrolling there will then have to put it down."

"That's all very interesting," I said.

"I think so," she agreed.

Jessica separated from me soon after to patrol the field elsewhere. She was correct when she told me that Flying Pokemon and Rattatta were a big problem. Several times Shade howled and I went running to his location. Most of those time I arrived to see him attacking a Rattatta. A couple of times Jessica and I had to work together with our Pokemon to deal with a flock of Flying Pokemon. Each time we encountered some wild Pokemon Jessica would whistle loudly and all the farmers in our field would evacuate until the danger had passed.

We each took breaks halfway through the shifts while the other watched the field by themselves. Afterwards we continued with occasional wild Pokemon encounters. This went on for most of the shift until we were nearing our final hour. That's when we heard Maxwell's voice from our radios.

"Attention all trainers patrolling Section A!" he said. "There is an unidentified wild Pokemon in the pumpkin patch that the trainers assigned to that field are having trouble with! One trainer from each field is to make their way there to help them immediately!"

Jessica and I turned to look at each other.

"Go," she said. "I'll watch over the corn field. Go see what the problem is."

I nodded and called Shade to me. We both took off running towards the pumpkin patch. I saw farmers running away from that field looking terrified. I managed to stop one of them as he ran passed me.

"What is it?" I asked him. "What's wrong?"

"Ghost!" he yelled in terror. "Ghost!"

He managed to shake off my hand before running in the direction he was going. I stood frozen in the same spot for a minute before Shade barked to get me moving again. I shook myself before running towards the pumpkin patch again.

"A Ghost Pokemon!" I thought incredulously. "Why did it have to be a Ghost type?"

Ghost type Pokemon are the third most feared type of Pokemon in the world. The only two types more feared are the Dragon and Psychic types. Dragon types are the most feared for their destructive power. Psychic types are feared for their ability to attack the minds of humans leaving them mindless vegetables. Ghost types are feared due to their cruelty. They are known to torment and torture humans to either feed off the negative emotions of just for fun.

All these thoughts ran through my head as I made it to the center of the pumpkin patch. When I got there I saw a half of a dozen trainers and their Pokemon spread out through the field looking for the Pokemon. Maxwell and the rest of the trainers were standing with a terrified farmer questioning him.

"Now tell me slowly," he said. "What did you see?"

The farmer took a deep breath. "We were checking the pumpkins near the center of the patch when one other farmer noticed one of the smaller pumpkins begin to glow," he began. "We didn't know what it was at first so we all went over to check. Once most of us were standing around it started floating and the glow increased. Some of the others began to panic and ran off at that point. I called over the trainers watching over the field but by the time they made it over the pumpkin had already changed into a Pokemon."

Maxwell turned to one trainer standing next to him.

"It was a Pumpkaboo," he told Maxwell. "It must have been a newborn."

"A newborn?" I asked getting every ones attention.

"Pumpkaboo are dual Ghost/Grass type Pokemon," Maxwell began. "A Pumpkaboo is born when a malevolent or mischievous spirit takes possession of a pumpkin. If we are dealing with a newborn then it is hungry. Since they are Ghost/Grass types they can either photosynthesize food the way that most Grass types do or feed of negative emotions the way Ghost types do. Fear is an easy negative emotion that Pumpkaboo can cause in humans so it's probably still here waiting for it's next chance to scare someone. Let's find it quick before it decides to head to one of the residential districts to feed from civilians there."

We all split up to help the trainers already looking. I turned to Shade after I had walked around for a few minutes

"Shade," I said. "Use Odor Sleuth. There is a Ghost Pokemon somewhere in this field. We have to find it."

He barked and began to sniff the air before moving forward slowly. Several times as he was searching he stopped before abruptly turning in another direction. After a few minutes of this he stopped and began to howl. Maxwell and the other trainers ran over to us to see what Shade found. He began growling and barking at the air in front of him just as the other trainers reached us. The air in front of him became distorted for a second and the Pumpkaboo became visible. It was a small Pokemon, about half the size of Tumbleweed.

Some of the trainers began to laugh. Even Maxwell began to chuckle. The Pumpkaboo frowned at them.

"Look at that thing!" one exclaimed. "It can fit in the palm of my hand!"

"It must have been a very weak spirit if it could only possess such a small pumpkin," Maxwell said as he continued to chuckle.

The Pokemon was obviously fed up with the fact that the trainers were laughing at it instead of feeling any fear. It suddenly vanished and a couple of seconds later it appeared right in front of us and let out a shrill scream. It released visible airwaves infused with Ghost energy. We all flinched back as the waves hit us.

"Little bastard!" one trainer yelled. "You're going down!"

He was about to order one of his Pokemon to attack before Maxwell stopped him.

"Wait," he said. "Let's let the rookie handle it."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"I want to see how far you've advance since the last time I saw you," he said. "Deal with this Pokemon quickly. It's almost time for shift change. Don't worry, it most likely only knows how to vanish, turn intangible and use Astonish attack. You should be able to handle it."

I just stared at him before looking at the Pumpkaboo. Then I turned to Shade who was watching me intently. I took a deep breath.

"Shade," I said. "Assurance!"

He darted towards the Ghost type and began to glow with at dark light. As he lunged to strike at it the Pumpkaboo quickly floated out of the way. He began cackling as Shade landed hard and stood up shakily. As Shade turned to face the Ghost type again it vanished again.

"Shade!" I yelled. "Odor Sleuth!"

Shade raised his head and began sniffing the air. He turned in a circle before he started growling while facing to his left.

"Use Snarl!" I yelled.

He used Snarl and released dark sound waves in the direction he was facing. We all winced as we heard a pain filled screech and the Pumpkaboo appeared again. It looked like it was struggling to stay floating and glowing purple liquid started to drip down from the face carved on it's pumpkin half.

"Ectoplasm," Maxwell said. "Liquefied Ghost energy. It's basically their lifeblood. That Snarl attack did a lot of damage. One more should vanquish it."

I was about to order Shade to finish it off before I paused to think for a moment.

"What's wrong," Maxwell said. "Finish it."

I turned to him

"May I capture it?" I asked him.

I obviously surprised him and the other trainers with my request. Maxwell raised an eyebrow and looked at me for a few seconds.

"Are you sure you want him?" he said. "Ghost Pokemon tend to be hard to tame."

"I'm pretty sure that I can use Shade to tame him and keep him in line," I said.

"Go for it then," he said.

I quickly reached into my backpack and took out my spare pokeball. I tossed it to the Pumpkaboo and he was sucked into the ball. It landed on the ground where it began to shake as the button flashed between white and red. It shook for a few seconds before finally stopping. The button on the ball was white showing that it had a captured Pokemon. I picked up the pokeball and stared at it.

"Congratulations rookie," Maxwell said. "It looks to me that you have what it takes to be a serious trainer. I'll look forward to the day when you reach the middle ranks."

The other trainers moved forward to congratulate me and pat me on the back. After a couple of minutes Maxwell yelled at us that we were still on a mission and to return to our fields. Shade and I made it back to the corn field a few minutes before shift change.

"What happened?" Jessica asked me.

I quickly told her everything that happened. She congratulated me for my capture and for getting Maxwell's approval.

"Maxwell is one of the oldest B-rank trainers that still actively takes missions," she said. "He's well respected by the trainers in the lower and middle ranks. Even Muliere and the other higher rank trainers respect him. Don't be surprised if some of the C-rank trainers ask you to team up with them to go on C-rank missions now."

I thought about that as we started walking back to the guard station. I realized that I was alright with what she told me. Teaming up with C-rank trainers would give me experience taking missions out in the wilds while having a more experienced trainer with me if I got in over my head. That would be very much to my advantage.

We returned to the guard station and handed back the radios as the next shift supervisor was handing out assignments. Most of the trainers on my shift headed straight over to the mission office to collect their pay. I went with them and had to sit in the magnet train while the trainers that saw me capture the Pumpkaboo regaled the rest with the story. All of them congratulated me and wished me luck on taming it. After we were done in the mission office we all went our separate ways.

I began to make my way to the Center hoping to find Hugo and Ginnette there. I couldn't wait to tell them everything that happened on my mission.


	15. Chapter 15

Notes: In this story there is no such thing as trade evolution. All Pokemon evolve with age or experience. The only exceptions are Pokemon that require evolution stones. Soon I will begin posting chapters that take place either weeks or months after the previous one. I'm sure many of you are looking forward to Jacob being C-rank already. There will still be several chapters were he is D-rank but I want to get him started on C-rank missions soon.

Chapter 15: Ghostly Matters

When I returned to the Center I asked the old trainer manning the front desk where Hugo and Ginnette were. Ginnette hadn't been seen since we left for our missions this morning. I was told that Hugo was still in the Center and I went looking for him. I found him in the Lounge watching the news on the television. I sat down on the couch next to him.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hey," he said without looking at me. "How was the mission?"

"Interesting," I answered. "Those District Eleven missions aren't like other D-rank missions. "

I explained to him everything that happened. He was only half paying attention to me as he continued to watch the news. It was only after I told him about catching the Pumpkaboo that he gave me his full attention.

"You caught a Ghost Pokemon?" he asked incredulously.

"It's a Ghost and Grass type," I responded. "Not a pure Ghost type."

"Still," he said. "Ghosts are dangerous and hard to tame. Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"

"I think so," I said. "I doubt I'll be able to use the same method I used with Shade. I thought about it on the way here. I think I'm going to have to resort to using fear as a taming tool."

"Fear?" he asked.

I nodded. "Fear of Shade and what I'll have him do to it if it doesn't listen. He has a type advantage and could have vanquished it easily. I'm hoping that will be enough."

"If it's not?" he asked.

I shrugged. "If not then I guess I'll have to have Shade finish it off and try again with a different Pokemon."

"Damn," he said. "You're lucky you had a pokeball left over from your Ordeal. I wont be able to capture another Pokemon until I can buy one."

"You'll be able to get another soon," I said. "Especially if you take five or more missions each week. Speaking of, did you accept another mission last night?"

"I did," he said. "Park patrol at one of the public parks in District Three. Evening shift."

"Huh," I said. "There's a good chance you'll run into a nocturnal Pokemon on that shift."

"I hope so," he said. "You and Ginnette have both seen some action on your missions. My first mission was pretty boring."

"You should be thankful you weren't in any danger," I told him.

"I just want a little excitement on my missions," he said.

"I'm sure you'll get all the excitement you want eventually," I said. "So you've been here in the Lounge all day?"

"No," he said. "I was up soon after you and Ginnette left the Center. I took Bitey to the training grounds to work on Hidden Power."

"Any progress?" I asked.

"Yep," he said smugly. "He was able to find the hidden energy and bring it to he surface. He's having a little trouble actually forming the attack but I figure he'll get it with a bit more training."

"What type of energy?" I asked.

"Light blue energy," he answered. "That means he has a Ice type Hidden Power."

"Nice," I said. "That attack will cause damage and have a chance of freezing the target. That could come in handy."

"I though so," he agreed.

"I still haven't thought about the next attack I'm going to have Shade learn," I said. "Probably something easy and then work on strengthening what he knows. I want to get started on taming the Pumpkaboo tomorrow."

A thought occurred to me.

"Do you know if Ginnette had any pokeballs left over from her Ordeal?" I asked.

"I never asked," he told me. "Why?"

"I thought that she might want to try capturing another Pokemon since she has Tumbleweed tamed," I said. "It's still pretty early. We have time to go out into the wilds and try to find another Pokemon for her."

"You mean you have time for you two to go out into the wilds," he said. "I have a mission in a couple of hours remember?"

"Yeah right," I said. "That's what I meant."

He looked at me silently for a moment. There was a frustrated look in his eyes. I had a feeling I knew what the problem was but didn't want to broach the subject. Finally he spoke up.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure," I said.

"Is there something going on between you and Ginnette?" he asked.

"Like what?" I responded, playing dumb.

The frustrated look was back.

"Are you two...?" he began. He took a deep breath. "Are you two together?"

"Not at the moment obviously," I responded, pretending I misunderstood. "I have no idea where she is right now."

He turned to me fully and stared at me. I was trying hard not to laugh. Finally he punched me in the arm hard.

"You ass!" he exclaimed. "You know exactly what I'm asking you!"

"Sorry," I said. "I couldn't resist. To answer your question, no we're not together like that. We're just friends. If anything I see her as the sister I never had. Besides, she already has an eye on another guy."

"Who!" he demanded.

"You, you idiot," I said with a laugh.

He looked happy for a second before frowning.

"Don't mess with me man," he said.

"I'm not," I told him. "You haven't noticed the looks she sometimes gives you? Or the way she teases you? She doesn't do that to me."

"What about how chummy you two were on our group training sessions?" he asked.

"We were both trying to give you a little space since you were having trouble training Bitey at first," I answered. "Trust me, there is nothing going on between us."

He looked very relieved.

"You really like her that much?" I asked.

He struggled with what to say for a second. "Well she's the only female trainer in our age group," he finally said. "All the others are older and most likely paired off already."

I frowned. "That can't be the only reason," I demanded.

"No it's not," he said quickly. He ran his hand over his face before looking at me again. "I don't know what it is about her. Half the time she drives me crazy with all the teasing she does. She also doesn't take any shit from me. You have to admire a girl that will give as good as she gets."

"Sounds like you really like her," I noted. "If you want my advice, wait a bit before you make any moves on her. Both your lives are just starting to get settled again. No sense rocking the boat just yet. You also need to consider the kind of person she is before anything."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"She was born and raised in the upper class," I reminded him. "You lived half of your life in the lower class."

"We left class behind when we became trainers," he retorted. "None of that matters anymore."

"Maybe," I said. "But she told me yesterday that she was going for a promotion as soon as possible because she didn't want to survive on D-ran missions. She mentioned something about not wanting to live like the lower class."

"Damn," he said, frowning.

"Yeah," I said. "I'd say dating her wont be easy. She's used to having the best of everything. Just something to thing about."

He thought about that silently for a moment. Finally he sighed. "That won't change my mind but I'll think about it for a bit before I do anything."

"Think about what?" a voice said.

We both jumped in surprise and turned to look at the source of the voice. Ginnette was walking towards us. We made space for her and she sat down between us.

"Think about what?" she asked again.

"Think about what Pokemon Hugo wants to try to capture next," I said quickly. "I caught my second today and now he want to go get another."

Hugo gave me a thankful look.

"You caught another Pokemon?" she asked excitedly. "When? Where? What Pokemon did you catch?"

"It was during my mission in District Eleven," I told her. "I caught a Pumpkaboo."

She gave me a look of alarm.

"A Ghost Pokemon!?" she yelled. "Jacob, what were you thinking? What could have possessed you to capture a Ghost?"

"Maybe another Ghost possessed him and made him catch it," Hugo said.

She slapped Hugo's arm.

"Not funny!" she snapped.

"It's alright," I said. "Calm down. The other trainers there thought it was a newborn. It didn't seem to know any attacks except Astonish and Shade almost vanquished it in one attack. I'm going to use Shade to help me tame it. If I can't tame it then I'll just have him finish it off."

She didn't look happy but didn't say anymore on the matter. We let her stew in her thoughts before Hugo spoke up again.

"We were wondering something," he began. "You never told us if you had any Pokeballs left over from your Ordeal."

"You never asked," she said. "I have one left over. I lost one trying to catch an Oddish."

"Have you thought about catching another one now that you have Tumbleweed pretty well tamed?" I asked.

"I haven't given it much thought," she admitted. "I probably should though after what happened today."

"What happened?" Hugo asked.

"A group of Rhyhorn made a run at the gate," she said. "We're not sure what stirred them up but we had to call in for backup while we held them off. I was the only one with one Pokemon. Tumbleweed did a great job slowing them down with Stun Spore and then hitting them with Bullet Seed but we could have used more help until the backup arrived."

"Was anyone hurt?" I asked.

"Some of the Pokemon on our side were injured," she said. "They should be fine after their trainers get them to a pokeball device."

"That's good," Hugo said.

"Yeah," I said. "Hey, why don't you and Hugo go out into the wilds tomorrow to catch your second Pokemon. I'll feel better knowing that he will give you some backup."

They both gave me a surprised look.

"What about you?" Ginnette asked.

"I'm going to get started on taming my Pumpkaboo," I said. "It's probably best if only Shade and I were there."

"I guess," she said. She turned to Hugo. "Well, how about it? You don't have a mission tomorrow do you?"

"I have a mission this evening," he said. "I was going to try to accept another mission when I completed that one but I can take tomorrow off to go with you."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. I stood up. "I'm going to the computer room to scan Pumpkaboo's pokeball. You guys want to come with?"

"Sure," they said.

We left the Lounge and went into the computer room. I sat at a station and logged on. Once I was ready I place Shade and the Pumpkaboo's pokeballs in two of the slots. I started up the healing program first to make sure Shade was at full health and heal the injuries that he gave the Pumpkaboo. Once I saw the device light up and begin the healing process I clicked on the Pumpkaboo's pokeball icon and scanned it. A few seconds later a picture of the Pumpkaboo appeared with information under it.

Species: Pumpkaboo, The Pumpkin Pokemon

Type: Ghost/Grass

Gender: Female

Age: 1 Day

Nature: Naughty

Summary: Pumpkaboo is a bipedal Pokemon that resembles a pinkish pumpkin. The pumpkin body has a pair of circular holes carved out of its rind that resembles eyes. The ghostly body that lives in the pumpkin is black with a pointy collar, yellowish eyes with no visible pupils, a pair of fangs, curved ears and a curled stem.

I read over the general information with Hugo and Ginnette reading over my shoulder. After that I skimmed over the attacks Pumpkaboo learned naturally as well as what they can be taught.

"A female Ghost," Hugo said with a laugh.

Ginnette glared at him. "What's wrong with her being female?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Absolutely nothing is wrong with it."

She glared at him for a moment longer before turning back to the screen. I shook my head at him before doing the same.

"A naughty nature," I contemplated. "I guess that's better than a cruel nature."

"Yeah," Ginnette agreed.

Hugo glanced at the clock.

"I should be heading to District Three for my mission," he said. "What are you two going to do?"

"I was going to let Shade wander around the training grounds again," I said.

Ginnette thought about it for a moment.

"It's early enough that I can get some training in," she said. "I'll let Tumbleweed rest for a bit before I get started on teaching him Acrobatics."

"Okay," he said. "If I don't see either of you when I get back then let's plan on getting up early for breakfast before we all head out."

We both agreed. After logging off and collecting my pokeballs, Ginnette and I followed him out of the Center. We wished him luck on his mission before he took off to the train station. Ginnette and I walked to the training grounds before she went her own way to find a place were she could work on Tumbleweed in privacy. I let Shade out of his pokeball. He appeared in front of me and I kneeled down to pet him.

"Good job today buddy," I told him.

He barked happily.

"Tomorrow I'm going to need your help with the newest member of our pack," I said. "She might give us trouble. You think you can help me keep her in line?"

He barked again.

"Good," I said. I stood up. "Come on. We have a few hours to relax. Let's go exploring."

He barked again and took off. I followed him though the training grounds enjoying the scenery.

We all woke up early the next morning. Ginnette was excited about possibly catching another Pokemon. Hugo was happy for her but I could sense his unhappiness at not being able to capture one himself. When I asked them what the plan was Ginnette told me that she wanted to go into the wilds from the eastern gate. The grasslands in that direction had a river flowing through it and she wanted to try to catch a Water type.

We finished eating and went outside to feed our Pokemon. Shade and Bitey both ate the food that we bought for them from the Pokemart. Tumbleweed ate some dirt that Ginnette dug up for him then sat to photosynthesize. I suggested to Ginnette that she might want to try buying food tailored for Grass types. She agreed to look into it later.

Once our Pokemon were done eating Hugo and Ginnette recalled theirs. They both wished me luck today and left to the train station. I wished them luck as they were leaving and turned to Shade.

"Well," I began," let's go find a quiet place to welcome the newest member of our pack."

He barked and led the way to the training grounds. After walking for a while we found a good place. This training ground was different from most of the others. It was divided into two sections. Half of the training ground was forest while the other was grassland. There were practice dummies in both sections.

"This should be a good place to try this," I stated.

I put down my backpack and then pulled out the Pumpkaboo's pokeball. Before I released her I turned to Shade.

"Shade," I said. "You need to be prepared for anything when I release her. Most likely she will try to attack me as soon as she's out. It's possible that she'll try to make a run for it instead. Either way she will most likely vanish before she does anything. I need you to use Odor Sleuth as soon as she vanishes. If you can sense that she is moving towards me then I want you to hit her with a Hidden Power. The attack will do very little damage but should force her to drop the invisibility. If you sense her trying to escape I want you to use a warning howl and I'll call her back into her pokeball. Understand?"

He barked confirmation.

"I want to really try to make this work with her," I continued. "but if she remains uncooperative then we might have no choice but to put her down. If I give you the order I want you to use Snarl on her until she's vanquished. Okay?

He barked again. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

"Well," I said. "Let's do this."

I held the pokeball out and released the Pumpkaboo. She materialized a moment later. She appeared floating a few feet in front of me with her eyes closed. She opened her eyes and saw me standing in front of her. We stared at each other for a few seconds before her eyes started glowing bright red and she vanished.

"Shade!" I yelled.

He was already sniffing the air as soon as she vanished. A couple of seconds later he released his Hidden Power. The orb flew towards me and suddenly impacted something a foot in front of me. The Pumpkaboo appeared spinning away from me. Once she stopped spinning she faced me again with glowing red eyes. She looked like she was going to try to attack me again before we both heard Shade snarling. We turned to him and saw him gathering Dark energy as he snarled. The Pumpkaboo squeaked and vanished again. A moment later Shade howled. I brought up the pokeball in the general direction that she was in before vanishing and recalled her. The beam traveled several feet away form me before impacting the invisible Pokemon and sucked her back into the pokeball.

"Good job Shade," I told him. "Ready to try that again?"

He barked me.

We readied ourselves before I released her again. She appeared a few feet in front of me with her eyes open this time. As soon as she materialized she narrowed her eyes at me then glanced at Shade. He had a hard look in his eyes as he stared at her. She turned back to me.

"Are you done?" I asked her. "If you try to attack me again then you'll have Shade to deal with. If you try to escape then I'll just send you back into the pokeball. We're prepared to do this all day. It all depends on whether you're going to cooperate or not."

She began to growl at me before she heard Shade snarling again. She stopped growling and gave us both a sullen look.

"Let me put it this way," I began. "Whether you like it or not I captured you. That means that you are now a part of our pack. I'm the alpha of this pack and you have to listen to me. Shade is my second. That puts you on the bottom. I you cooperate and obey me without question then I will take care of you. I'll make sure you're fed when you're hungry and I'll heal you when you are injured."

"If you decide not to cooperate," I continued. "I will have Shade finish what he started back in the pumpkin patch. He will use Snarl on you and continue to do so until there is nothing left of you. I would rather have you as a productive member of this pack but am prepared to vanquish you and start over with another Pokemon. Understand?"

She just continued to give me a sullen look.

I narrowed my eyes as Shade started to snarl again.

"I said do you understand?" I asked tersely.

She slowly nodded her body before floating lower until she was only a foot above the ground. I stared at her for a moment longer.

"Good," I said.

I held out the hand without the pokeball.

"Come here," I said.

She stayed still for a moment before Shade started snarling again. She glanced at him before slowly floating over to me. When she reached me she looked at my hand for a moment before landing in the palm of my hand. I shivered for a moment from the feel of her body. It felt like I was holding ice in my hand.

She really was a small Pokemon. She easily fit in my hand and barely weighed anything. I put her pokeball in my pocket and began petting her. She didn't seem to enjoy it one way or the other. All she did was stare at me throwing occasional glances at Shade.

"From now on," I said. "you're name will be Lilith. If you don't respond to that name I'll assume you're being uncooperative again and let Shade have a go at you. Understand?"

She mumbled a sound that I took to mean she understood. I turned to Shade.

"Shade," I said. "Come meet the newest member of our pack."

He moved forward stiffly. I kneeled down so he could have a better look at her. Lilith stayed still as Shade sniffed her and gave a short wag of his tail. Once he was done he backed away a few feet.

"Now that we're all getting along we're going to do some light training today," I told them. "Shade, I've decided that you're going to learn Double Team. It's a speed technique that lets you create real looking afterimages to trick your opponent. It might take some time for you to master this. For now I want you to run back and forward in this training ground to work on your speed. Keep running until you get tired then rest for a few minutes before starting again. Eventually your speed will increase to the point that you will be able to create the afterimages. I'm going to work on Lilith while you train. Okay?"

He barked and immediately began running laps in the training ground. I turned back to Lilith who was staring at Shade. She turned back to me when she noticed me staring at her.

"We're going to begin on your training," I told her. "I know you can vanish and you should be able to turn intangible already. We're going to work on commands for those two abilities. After that we'll work on your Astonish, the attack you used on us back in the pumpkin patch."

I had her float a few feet in front of me as I began working on her commands. Although she was sullen the whole time we were training she obeyed all my commands, albeit slowly. She could easily vanish and reappear at will. We worked on her intangibility after that and I noticed that while she could pass through the trees in the training ground she couldn't keep that ability up for long.

"It must be because she's not a pure Ghost," I thought.

We continued working on this training for a couple of hours. Shade kept running laps until he couldn't run anymore then took 15 minute breaks before starting again. Throughout his training he kept an eye on Lilith and I. She was obeying me faster by this point and I finally started to work on her Astonish. I moved over to a practice dummy and had her practice the attack on it. The dummy seemed completely unaffected by the ghostly energy waves she released as she appeared in front of it. Obviously the attack only affected living things or other Ghosts.

We kept this up for another hour with no problems. It wasn't until Shade stopped for another break and I turned to go check him that we had an issue. As soon as I turned my back on Lilith and started walking towards Shade she spun around to face me then vanished. I didn't see her vanish but Shade did. He instantly stood up and ran towards me. When he was a couple of feet away from me he released a Snarl attack. The attack missed me by an inch and flew behind me. We heard a pain filled scream and I spun around as Lilith appeared floating inches from the ground. She was clearly barely hanging on. She made high pitched cries and was dripping ectoplasm on the ground. Shade moved in front of me and began gathering Dark energy for another Snarl.

"That was very stupid of you," I told her. "You're lucky Shade didn't put enough power into that attack to vanquish you."

Lilith could only continue floating in pain while crying. Ectoplasm continued to drip to the ground.

"I'm sure you'll eventually heal from the attack," I continued coldly. "I could recall you to your pokeball and heal you at the Center. I'm curious though, why should I heal you? You tried to attack my while my back was turned. What's to stop you from trying that again?"

She started making plaintive sounds at me now.

"I don't know," I said. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to trust you after all. I think I should just have Shade finish you off so you wont be my problem anymore. What do you think Shade?"

Shade started to growl as he continued to stare at Lilith.

"See," I told Lilith. "He agrees with me. I guess we should just end this now, I'm getting somewhat hungry anyway. Shade, use Snarl."

Shade was about to unleash his attack when Lilith managed to float up a bit and started making begging sounds.

"Stop Shade," I told him.

He stopped and continued to stare at Lilith. I stared directly at her.

"I take it that you're going to fully cooperate now?" I asked her.

She quickly made agreeing sounds.

"This will be the last chance I ever give you," I said. "If you ever try to attack me again, try to attack anyone without my permission then I give Shade the order to finish you off. Do you understand me?"

She agreed again.

"Good," I said. "I want you to remember this day very clearly. The day that I spared you. I hope, for your sake, that I don't ever regret it."

She made a relieved sound then dropped until she was floating a few inches off the ground again. She continued to drip ectoplasm but more slowly. I pulled out her pokeball.

"I'm going to return you now," I told her. "I'll heal you when I get back to the Center. Tomorrow I'll let you out and if you behave then I'll feed you. Understand?"

She agreed again. I recalled her to the pokeball and went over to my backpack. I took out some food for Shade and placed it in front of him.

"You deserve it," I said. "You were great today. Good job."

He barked and ate the food ravenously.

"Let's go home," I told him when he finished.

I put on my backpack and began walking back to the Center.

When I made it back to the Center the first thing I did was ask if Hugo and Ginnette had returned. I was told that they were both in the computer room. When I went in there I found Ginnette sitting at a station with Hugo reading over her shoulder. He was the first one to notice me and called me over.

"Jacob," he called. "Check this out."

I moved to stand behind Ginnette and stared at the screen in front of her. On the screen there was a picture of a Pokemon I recognized as a Wooper. There was information under the picture.

Species: Wooper, The Water Fish Pokemon

Type: Water/Ground

Gender: Male

Age: one Year

Nature: Mild

Summary: Wooper is a mostly blue, amphibious Pokemon that resembles an axolotl. Wooper's head is large compared to its body, and it has black eyes are small and round. It has purple, branching gills on the sides of its head. The gills are smaller on the female than on the male. Wooper stands upright on its small, round feet, and has a large, thick tail. On its belly are dark blue, curved markings.

Wooper tends to be a dull-witted Pokemon oblivious to its surroundings. Wooper lives in cold water most of the time. When sleeping, it partially buries itself in the mud at the bottom. It will occasionally leave the water when the air cools in the evening to search for food along the shore. While walking on land, it coats its body with a slimy, toxic film that keeps its skin from dehydrating and insulates against the cold. The film causes a shooting pain if touched barehanded.

"You caught a Wooper?" I asked.

"Obviously," Hugo said.

I glared at him for a second before turning to Ginnette.

"Congratulations," I told her.

"Thanks," she said with a grin. "I hoped for a Water type."

"It's also a Ground type," I reminded her. "That means that unless he's actually in water Electric attacks will not affect him. Although Grass attacks do four times the damage."

"Which explains why Tumbleweed's attack did so much damage to it," she said. "He was hit with one Bullet Seed and was knocked out cold. I actually thought that Tumbleweed killed him for a second. We came back here as fast as we could to heal him."

"Well congratulations," I said again. I read the information on the screen again. "Mild nature. What is it with you getting Pokemon that are relatively easy to tame?"

"I guess I've just been lucky so far," she said.

"Some people have all the luck," Hugo muttered.

We both gave him an exasperated look. Ginnette then turned back to me.

"Speaking of luck," she began, "did you have any luck with the Pumpkaboo?"

"We came to an agreement," I said. I decided not to tell them about the attempted sneak attack.

"Of course you did," Hugo muttered.

We both ignored him that time.

"I've decided to call her Lilith," I continued.

"Lilith?" Ginnette asked. "That's an...interesting name."

I shrugged. "I think it suits her. I trained her and Shade for a while today. I'm going to put them both through the healing program to make sure there is nothing wrong with either of them. I also need to check to see what missions are still available for tomorrow."

"We probably should have done that earlier," Ginnette mused. "All of the good missions are probably taken already."

Hugo and I both agreed with her and each went to a station. The three of us logged into the mission site and began going through the available missions. Thankfully there was still a good number for us to choose from. I went through them until I found one I found interesting.

Mission Rank: D

Reward: $50

Location: District Six, Publix Park B

Summary: Asidia College of Art looking to hire a trainer to watch over a class of painters who wish to paint in a natural setting. Trainer must report to the park fountain by 11AM. Client safety is first priority. Mission will last a maximum of four hours.

"Check this out," I said to Hugo and Ginnette.

They moved over to read the mission.

"That's interesting," Hugo said.

"That's your old district isn't it?" Ginnette asked me.

I nodded. "I've only been to that park a handful of times," I said. "Park C was the one closest to my parent's home."

"Are you going to accept it?" Hugo asked.

I nodded again. "I sounds interesting."

I entered my information and accepted the mission. I received confirmation a minute later. Hugo and Ginnette went back to their stations to keep going through the missions. After a few minutes she called us over to her.

"Look," she said. "There are two available guard missions for the same time and place. District Eleven, Section B for the afternoon shift."

"That's the section in the agricultural district where the fruit tree orchards are located," I remarked.

"That sounds fun," Hugo said. "Should be a lot of action. I only had to deal with a Spinarak on my park patrol, I want a challenge."

"I'm sure you'll get one," I told him. "I had to deal with a lot of wild Pokemon on my mission in that district."

"Sweet," he said excited.

I turned to Ginnette. "Are you going to accept it too?"

She nodded. "It does sound challenging," she said. "And I do want to prove to the higher rank trainers that I'm a serious trainer."

"Go for it then," I told them.

They both accepted the missions and received confirmation. Once we were done we logged out and left the computer room. I suggested that we go to the Pokemart to stock up on some food for our Pokemon. I was almost out of Shade's food and I wanted to get some Grass type food for Lilith. They agreed with me and we went together.

I ended up buying two medium sized bags for my Pokemon. I would have to store them in the barracks and just carry some in small bags in my backpack. Ginnette ended up getting two medium bags for Tumbleweed and her Wooper. Hugo just got one small bag of fruit for Bitey. When we were done we stored the food away and went to the cafeteria. We all bought a tray of food and sat at a table to eat.

"So when are you going to begin taming your Wooper?" I asked Ginnette after eating in silence for a bit.

"Tomorrow in the morning," she said. "I'll work on him for a couple of hours before our mission. When we get back I'll work on him some more."

"Let us know if you need any help," I told her.

She agreed and we continued eating. Once we were done we took our trays to the kitchen and went to the Lounge to hang out until it was time for bed. We spent the rest of the evening playing pool and enjoying each other's company.


	16. Chapter 16

Notes: I apologize for the increased time between posts. This is a busy time of year at my job. I will try my best to have a new chapter every other day at least.

Chapter 16

Hugo and I slept in a bit the next day. I woke up two hours before my mission was scheduled to start and got ready for my day. When I was done I left the barracks and asked the trainer at the front desk about Ginnette. He told me that she had gotten up early and left for the training grounds. With nothing better to do and having a little time to spare I grabbed some food from the cafeteria and took it outside to eat with my Pokemon.

I went to the closest training ground to the Center that didn't have a trainer occupying it. Once I found a good spot I placed my backpack on the ground and released Shade from his pokeball. He appeared in front of me and gave a long yawn. I began taking out the food from my backpack and he gave me his full attention.

"We're going to eat as a pack today," I told him. "We'll see how Lilith behaves. Keep an eye on her in case she decides to cause trouble."

Shade barked confirmation. I took out Lilith's pokeball and released her after a moment of hesitation. She appeared floating in front of me and looked around. After staring at Shade for a moment she looked at me.

"Morning," I said cheerfully. "I've decided we're going to have breakfast as a pack today. I trust there will not be a repeat of last time?"

She mumbled in response.

"Good," I said.

I took out a handful of each of their food and placed it in front of them. Shade dug into his pile while keeping an eye on Lilith. She floated down to stare at her food before staring at me again. There was a distasteful look on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She gave her food another distasteful look.

"You're part Grass type," I told her. "You can eat solid food to sustain yourself instead of feeding on emotions. Get used to eating this type of food and photosynthesizing it. I doubt you'll get many chances to feed on fear or other dark emotions."

She stared at her food for a moment before she began to eat slowly. I took out my food and began to eat mine. Shade was finished with his food and sat in front of me while staring at my sandwich.

"Greedy," I told him.

I broke of a piece of the sandwich and gave it to him.

"That's all you're getting," I said.

He whined before moving over to Lilith to stare at her food. She glared at him and began to eat faster.

"Leave her alone Shade," I said. "Besides, that's Grass type food made from fertilizer. I doubt you'll like it anyway."

He huffed before moving back to me. He laid down next to me and I started petting him. I quickly finished up my food and took out some water. I poured some in my hand to let Shade drink. Lilith finished up her food and I called her over to me. I poured out more water and offered it to her. She drank some before floating back a few feet.

"Alright," I said. "I guess now you just stay in the sun for a little while and photosynthesize the food and water."

She said nothing, just continued to float in the sunlight. Shade and I just sat watching her for several minutes before I began speaking to him. We stayed there until I had a hour before my shift started. I stood up and turned to Lilith.

"We're going on our mission now," I said. "You'll both have to stay in your pokeballs unless I need you. I'll let you guys out in the training grounds later and tomorrow we'll go back there to train."

Shade barked and Lilith just mumbled again. I recalled both of them into their pokeballs and picked up my backpack. I headed over to the train station and took a magnet train over to District Six. After disembarking at the station nearest to my destination I began walking to Park B. I got there with time to spare so I decided to head to the guard station to talk to the trainers there before heading to the fountain.

There was one trainer in the station manning the radio. He was a C-rank trainer who was in charge of the morning shift. He was very friendly to me after I introduced myself. He let me sit in the station with him until it was time for my mission to start. We talked about different things when he wasn't talking on the radio. He mentioned how one of his subordinates was a serious D-rank trainer and the other was also a C-rank who hasn't been in the rank long. When I got up to leave for the fountain he promised that he would have one of them check me and my clients every so often to make sure there were no problems.

"I guess word of Maxwell's approval got around," I thought as I was walking to the park's fountain.

I made it to the fountain and found a small group of young adults and one middle aged woman. Except for the woman they were all carrying easels and canvas panels and other supplies. When the woman saw me walking over to them she stalked over to meet me halfway.

"You're late!" she snapped.

I stopped and stared at her for a moment.

"The mission doesn't start until 11AM," I finally said. "There's still ten minutes left. I'm early."

"Don't talk back to me trainer!" she yelled. "You should have been here long before us to inspect the area first! I should file a complaint with the mission office and dock your pay!"

"Ma'am," I said calmly. "My mission summary was very specific. I'm being paid to be at this location by 11AM and watch over your class while you paint. You can file a complaint if you want but know that if you do I will file a counter-complaint on you. If my complaint goes through you will be blacklisted and the mission office will never accept a request from you again."

She gave me a nasty look.

"Just do your job and don't bother me or my students!" she snapped.

"No problem ma'am," I retorted.

She stalked back to her students. I moved over to a park bench that was close enough that I could watch over them but not close enough to bother them. As I watched them get set up I couldn't help but notice how most of them threw me cautious looks and set up their easels away form me. Only one student set himself up near me. He stood his easel a couple of feet in front of me while facing the fountain. Once he had the angle right he placed a canvas panel on the easel and began unpacking his supplies.

"Sorry about her," he said without looking at me. "She doesn't really like Pokemon trainers."

"I noticed," I said sarcastically.

He gave a short laugh and began using a pencil to sketch the fountain on the panel.

"I noticed that you're the only student that set up your panel near me," I remarked. "Aren't you afraid of me too?"

"Not really," he said. "If you did anything to us you would be declared a rogue trainer. I doubt you want to have other trainers come after you to put you down."

"True," I said.

I sat there watching over my clients. The teacher kept walking among her students examining their panels and giving advice. Once in a while she would glance in our direction and throw me and the student in front of me a glare.

"She doesn't seem too happy that you're so close to me," I told him. "Maybe I should move away from you. I don't want you to have any problems with her."

He shrugged. "She doesn't really like me anyway," he said. "She hasn't since day one. On my first day of class she started badmouthing trainers and I defended you. She's been trying to fail me since. Good thing I'm the best artist in the class."

"You defended us?" I asked.

He shrugged again. "I never wanted to be a trainer myself but I really respect what it is you do," he said. "You risk your lives on a daily basis to protect us civilians and our way of life. How can I not respect that?"

"Not many civilians think like you do," I said.

"That's because most civilians are ignorant," he said.

I agreed with him but didn't say anything. For the next couple of hours I sat there watching over the clients. Occasionally the student in front of me would strike up a conversation and ask me questions. I always responded to him but tried not to distract him too much. Every time we spoke to each other I could see the teacher fuming and looking like she wanted to come over and separate us.

Several times while I was sitting there one of the trainers guarding the park would walk by and stop to speak to me for a few minutes. Apparently it was a slow morning and no wild Pokemon had been spotted in the morning shift yet. It wasn't until the patrolling trainers were heading back to the station for shift change that we had any wild Pokemon sightings.

One female student was painting a sketch of a flowering bush that was in front of her when the bush started shaking. She didn't notice at first but I spotted it right away. I stood up and began making my way to her. Before I was even halfway there a Pokemon jumped out of the bush and moved quickly towards the student. I started running once I saw the Pokemon.

"Move!" I yelled.

The students all turned to look in the direction I was running and began to panic. The student that was near the Pokemon tried to run but tripped over her supplies. The Pokemon was almost on her. I did not have enough time to reach her. I pulled out Shade's pokeball and stopped to throw it as hard as I could. The ball sailed over the student and opened in midair. Shade appeared between the Pokemon and the student.

"Shade!" I yelled as I continued to run towards them. "Snarl!"

Shade scored a direct hit and knocked the Pokemon back a couple of feet. It landed on it's back and tried to right itself. Now that I was close I was able to identify the wild Pokemon.

"Nincada," I thought. "A Bug/Ground type. I don't have any real advantage against it. I'll just have to rely on Shade's training."

"Shade, Howl!" I ordered.

He gave a deep Howl which increased his attack power. I vaguely heard the alarm begin to sound and the trainer in the guard station telling civilians to evacuate. I had reached the fallen student by this time and helped her stand up before pushing her behind me.

"Now use Assurance!" I said.

He began running at the Nincada which had finally righted itself. As he was running he began building Dark energy. When he finally hit the Nincada the energy flared brightly and the Pokemon was sent flying back until it hit a tree and fell to the ground. I could see that the Assurance hit hard enough to crack it's shell. There was green liquid seeping out from the cracks. The Nincada was still moving so I ordered Shade to finish it off.

"Keep hitting it with Hidden Power," I said.

Shade sent orb after orb of Grass energy at the Nincada until it stopped moving. I ordered him to stop and cautiously walked up to the body. Once I was close enough I kicked it to make sure it was dead. It didn't make any more movements.

I turned back to my clients and saw that most of them were huddled up together behind their teacher. The student I was talking to earlier hadn't moved from his spot. He just stood behind his easel watching me as I made my way to the other students.

"Are you alright?" I asked the female student when I reached the group.

She nodded shakily. "Yes," she stammered. "Thank you."

I heard the sound of people running and turned to see four trainers quickly making their way to us. The first thing they noticed was Shade and I saw them getting their pokeballs ready.

"Stop!" I yelled. "He's my Pokemon!"

"We received an alert about a wild Pokemon near the fountain," one trainer said. "Where is it?"

I pointed to the Nincada's corpse. "Over there," I told them.

Two of the trainers walked over to the body while the other two made their way to us. I recognized one as one of the morning shift guards. The other trainer was unfamiliar to me.

"Is everyone alright?" the familiar trainer asked.

"Everyone's fine," I said. "The Nincada didn't get a chance to hurt anyone. The student who was the target might have some bruises from the fall she took though."

The other two trainers were done examining the body and joined us.

"Good job rookie," one congratulated me.

"Thanks," I said. "But Shade did all the hard work."

"Why is that creature still outside it's ball!" a shrill voice screeched.

We all turned to the teacher. Her face was red as she pointed to Shade angrily.

"That 'creature' just protected you and your students ma'am," the trainer that congratulated me told her. "You should be thanking him and his trainer."

"What took you so long!" she continued. "We could have all been killed by the time you made it here!"

"We were in the middle of our shift change ma'am," another said. "We headed over here as soon as we received the alert."

"You didn't get here fast enough!" she yelled. "Is that the level of protection we can expect from you monster lovers!?"

That was the last straw. All the trainers present were now openly glaring at the teacher. Shade was quietly growling at her. Even some of her own students were now frowning at her.

"You all just went through a traumatic experience," the first trainer told her coldly. "So we're going to ignore that monster lover remark. But if I hear anything like that coming out of your mouth again I'll make sure that you and your college are blacklisted from making any mission requests in the future. Understand?"

She fumed silently for a moment as the rest of us waited for her to respond. Finally she turned to her students.

"We're leaving!" she snapped at them. "Pack your things now!"

He students quickly moved to obey her. Once they had gathered all their supplies they all followed her as she stalked away from us. The student I was speaking to earlier moved at a more leisurely pace. As he passed by the group of trainers he stopped in front of me for a moment.

"Thank's for saving her," he said. "And sorry for the banshee. I'll contact the mission office and tell them how you kept us safe from harm just in case she tries to file a compliant against you."

"Thanks," I said with relief. "I appreciate it."

"I'm Derek," he said and offered me his hand.

"Jacob," I responded as I shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you," he said. "I'll remember you if I ever need to hire a trainer for anything. I should go before they leave me behind. See you later."

We watched him leave the area as he lagged behind his group.

"Good job rookie," the same trainer said again. "I'll also inform the mission office about this incident in case she does decided to file a complaint. Don't worry about it. We take care of our own."

"Thanks," I said.

"Since your clients have left the park safely that means your mission is complete," he said. "No sense sticking around any longer unless you want to. Why don't you head over to the mission office and collect your pay then take the rest of the day to relax. We'll clean up here before finishing with our shift change."

I thanked them again. I recalled Shade then left the park. I took a magnet train to the central district and walked to the mission office. I waited in line until one teller called me forward. When he asked how the mission went I reported it complete and told him about the incident with the Nincada and the teacher. When I was done he told me not to worry about it since the mission office receives many complaints from civilians every week. He also mentioned that unless I truly did something to break the guidelines of a mission that the mission office would back me up against angry civilians.

I left the mission office relieved that I would not be punished if the teacher did file a complaint against me. As I took the magnet train back to the trainer district I thought about how nice it was to have the support of my fellow trainers as well as some civilians.

"It's nice to know that not all civilians think badly of us," I thought as the train pulled into the station.

I disembarked from the train and stretched as I stood in front of the station. I slowly made my way towards the Center. I decided to wait in the Lounge for Hugo and Ginnette to finish their missions.

"Here's hoping that they had an easy time in District Eleven," I thought as I stepped through the door. "Time to relax."


	17. Chapter 17

Notes: In this story Ground type attacks can hit Flying type Pokemon as long as they are projectiles. Flying type Pokemon resist the damage from Ground type attacks.

Chapter 17

"This wouldn't have happened if you weren't so reckless!"

I jolted from my spot on the couch. I had been watching the television in the Lounge while waiting for Hugo and Ginnette to return from their missions. I turned to the sound of the angry voice and saw Hugo stalking towards me with an angry Ginnette following him.

"Are you listening?!" she yelled.

"How could I not!" he yelled back. "They can probably hear you in District Nine! I don't need you to tell me I screwed up! Just drop it!"

"If you had just-" she began to say.

Hugo stopped and whirled to face her. "Will you let it go!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Stop!" I yelled.

I stood up and quickly made my way to them. "What the hell is going on?!" I demanded.

He whirled to face me. "Ask her!" he shouted. "I'm sure she'd love to explain to you in detail about how I screwed up! I'm going to the barracks! At least she wont be able to follow me in there!"

He turned and pushed passed Ginnette and left the Lounge. I turned to Ginnette.

"What's going on?!" I demanded.

"Bitey's dead!" she yelled.

I froze. I could not believe the words that just came out of her mouth. After a few seconds I struggled to say something.

"What?" I stammered.

"Bitey's dead!" she repeated.

I took a deep breath to steady myself. I was about to ask her another question before I stopped and looked around the Lounge. There was a handful of trainers spread out in the room. None of them were bothering to hide their interest in our conversation. I turned back to Ginnette.

"Let's go outside," I told her.

I grabbed her arm and began to pull her out of the Lounge. She shook of my arm and began following me outside the Center. Once we were outside we walked to the nearest empty training ground. We stood silently for a moment as I took another steadying breath.

"What happened?" I asked.

"It happened on our shift," she began. "The supervising trainer split us up and paired us with more experienced trainers. I was sent to the apple orchard while Hugo went to the pear orchard. For the most part my mission went the same way that your mission in that district went. I had several encounters with wild Pokemon that were after the apples but my Pokemon were able to handle most of them. The ones that I couldn't were taken care of by the other trainer. Things were fine until there were only two hours left on the shift."

"What happened?" I asked again.

"The supervisor radioed me to go to the pear orchard," she continued. "I was worried that Hugo had gotten injured so I ran there. When I got there I found the supervisor there with Hugo and the trainer he was paired up with. Hugo was sitting on the ground cradling something in his arms. When I walked up to him I saw..." she stopped and looked ready to burst into tears.

"Go on," I said gently.

"It was Bitey," she continued sadly. "Hugo was ignoring my questions so I asked the supervisor and the other trainer what happened. They told me that Hugo was doing well on the mission at first. He took care of most the wild Pokemon encounters by himself or with the other trainer. He didn't have any problems until he encountered a Pachirisu."

"A Pachirisu," I stated, knowing what was coming. "He tried dealing with it himself knowing that Bitey was at a clear disadvantage didn't he?"

She nodded. "The other trainer ran over to their location when he heard the commotion. He saw Bitey laying still on the ground and the Pachirisu getting ready to attack Hugo. His Pokemon quickly killed the Pachirisu and he radioed to the supervisor before going to check Bitey. They told me that Bitey was most likely hit with a strong Electric attack like Thunderbolt. The attack killed him instantly."

She stopped to get a grip on her emotions. I didn't say anything. I felt like I had lost something important. It was almost as if I lost a relative or a close friend. I kept trying to get a grip on the situation.

"What happened next?" I asked.

"I did my best to comfort Hugo," she continued. "The other trainers were very sympathetic to him. The supervisor even let him take over manning the guard station while he took over patrolling the orchard. That way Hugo wouldn't have an incomplete mission on his record and he would still get paid for the mission."

"That was nice of him," I noted.

She nodded. I took a deep breath again.

"Damn," I said. "Why did this have to happen? Forgetting for a second how hard it must be on Hugo to lose Bitey, now he doesn't have a Pokemon. What's going to happen to him? Will he have to retake his Ordeal and try to get another one by himself?"

She shook her head. "The supervisor let Hugo bury Bitey in the orchard before he sent him to the guard station. After Hugo was set up in the station I had to get back to my patrol," she said. "The trainer I was partnered with asked me what was wrong when he saw how distracted I was. I explained what happened and pretty much asked the same thing. He was very sympathetic like the others. He told me that since Hugo already passed his Ordeal once and proved himself capable as a trainer that he doesn't have to retake it."

"Even after this they still consider him capable?" I asked.

She shrugged. "He said that these things happen, especially to rookie trainers," she said. "The higher rank trainers are more forgiving since Hugo is still technically a rookie. He should have retreated and gotten the other trainer once he saw that he was at a clear disadvantage. As long as he learns from his mistake today and understands that sometimes you need backup they wont hold it against him."

"So what now?" I asked.

"Since Hugo passed his Ordeal and his D-rank exam he doesn't have to go out on his own to try to capture another Pokemon," she answered. "We can go with him and keep him safe from wild Pokemon. However, it is very important that Hugo does the actual capture by himself. If we help him capture a Pokemon by weakening it for him he will lose face and the respect of the higher ranks. He has to do that part himself."

"He'll need a pokeball," I said.

She shook her head. "Bitey's pokeball is still usable," she said. "He just needs to go to the Pokemart and pay $50 to have it reset and re-registered."

"That's something," I said.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

We both stood quietly for a long moment.

"I can't believe this is happening," I finally said.

"Me neither," she responded. "I feel like any second now I'll wake up and find that this has been one bad dream."

"This is reality," I told her. "We all knew being Pokemon trainers would be a difficult road. This is just the first bump on the road. It wont be the last."

She didn't respond to that comment. All she did was stare sadly at the ground. After a few moments of thought I narrowed my eyes and looked at her.

"Why were you two yelling when you entered the Lounge?" I demanded.

She didn't look up. I saw her face grow red then begin to pale.

"We were on the way back from the mission office after collecting our pay," she said quietly. "I tried getting him to talk to me on the magnet train on the way here. After a while of me talking to him he finally snapped at me to shut up. He said he didn't want to hear my voice. He just needed some quiet. I don't know why but I got really angry with him and began yelling at him. I...I blamed him for Bitey's death."

"You did what?" I asked quietly.

She finally looked up at me. There were tears in her eyes.

"I don't know what came over me," she said. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," I said coldly.

"I know," she said sadly. "I'll go apologize to him."

"No," I stopped her. "You apologizing now wont help the situation. You need to give him some space. I'll go talk to him."

She nodded slowly.

"Why don't you go spend some time with your Pokemon," I suggested. "No training, just go somewhere to relax together and try to keep your mind on something else."

"Okay," she said quietly.

"Don't accept any missions for tomorrow," I told her. "We're both going with Hugo tomorrow to protect him while he catches another Pokemon."

"So soon?" she asked. "He just lot Bitey."

"We'll give him tonight to mourn," I said. "He needs to move passed this. I think getting another Pokemon will help heal the pain he's going through. Hopefully, he'll get another Pokemon early tomorrow and he can work on taming it quickly. That way he can start taking missions again. It's for the best if he moves forward."

"If you say so," she said. "I'm just going to wander the training grounds for a while until I head back to go to bed. I'll be up early so we can head out. Just...try to help him through this. At least one of us should be there for him."

I nodded. "I'll take care of him," I told her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She just nodded and walked away from me. I stood there for a moment thinking of what Hugo was going through.

"I know things were rough for them at first," I thought, "but they eventually worked passed it and became partners like Shade and I. If I lost Shade like that..." I shuddered.

I released Shade from his Pokeball after that thought. I kneeled down to pet him as soon as he appeared. He must have sensed something wrong because he stood still as I quietly pet him. I eventually stopped petting him and just looked him in the eyes.

"I have some bad news buddy," I told him quietly. "We lost a friend today. Bitey is dead."

Shade's ears drooped and he sat down. He began to howl mournfully at the sky.

"I know how you feel," I said. "I know I promised to let you relax in the training grounds today but Hugo needs me right now. Tomorrow we're all going into the wilds to help him find a new friend. Once we get back we'll most likely help him tame whatever Pokemon he catches. I'll let you have the rest of the day after that to relax. Deal?"

He barked.

"Thanks," I said. "I'm going to go find Hugo now. I'll see you tomorrow."

He barked again. I returned him into his pokeball and made my way back to the Center. When I entered I went straight to the barracks. Hugo was laying in his usual bed staring at the top bunk. I sat down in the bed next to his and just waited. He didn't acknowledge me for a long time. Finally after a long period of silence he spoke up.

"What am I going to do?" he asked quietly.

I gathered my thoughts for a few seconds and answered. "This is what we're going to do," I told him. "Tomorrow morning you are going to the Pokemart to reset your pokeball and have it registered to you again. After that you, Ginnette and I are going into the wilds to find a Pokemon for you to catch. Ginnette and I will protect you while you do the actual catching. Once you have another Pokemon we'll come back to the Center to scan it and heal it from any possible injuries. Finally, we'll go to the training grounds were you will do the best to tame it before sundown. That way you can get back on your feet and continue taking missions the following day. Understand?"

"Just like that?" he asked.

"Just like that," I said.

We both stayed quiet for another long moment. I was trying to give him the space he needed while being there for him if he needed me.

"Jacob," he said quietly after a while.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Bitey's dead," he said with a broken voice.

He covered his eyes with his arm. I could see tears begin to fall down his cheeks.

"I know buddy," I said quietly. "I know."

The next morning we all got up early and got ready to go into the wilds. After we were ready Hugo and I met Ginnette at the Pokemart so Hugo could have Bitey's pokeball reset and re-registered. Word must have gotten around because the trainer at the register kept giving Hugo sympathetic looks. Hugo said very little to any of us. Ginnette didn't say anything to either one of us other than a mumbled good morning. Neither one of them would look at the other in the eyes. I tried to rush the other trainer along so I could get Hugo away from the sympathy. Once he was done I quickly thanked him and ushered Hugo and Ginnette out of the Center.

We stood quietly in front of the Center for a few minutes. I finally decided to get us started. I turned to Hugo.

"Do you have an idea of what Pokemon you want to try to catch?" I asked him.

"It doesn't matter," he mumbled.

I tried again. "What gate did you want to leave from then?" I asked. "We can just wander the wilds until we see something you might want."

He thought about it for a while before looking at me. "Let's leave through the north gate," he said finally.

I stared at him for a moment. Even Ginnette was finally looking directly at him now.

"The north gate?" I asked. "Are you sure? That's the gate you left from on your Ordeal when you caught..." I paused. "Why don't we try the southern or eastern gates? The wilds from those gates are mostly grasslands. It will be safer than the mountains."

"The north gate," he said stubbornly.

Ginnette and I looked at each other for a second before she dropped her head to stare at the ground. I turned back to Hugo.

"If that's what you want," I said. "Let's go to the station."

We went to the station and took a magnet train to our destination. We sat quietly in the back of the train cart the whole way. We disembarked when we reached the station closest to the gate and walked the rest of the way. The gate guards stopped us to take note of the reason we were leaving the city state and how long we were expected to be gone. I told them that we we're going out to capture a Pokemon and did not know when we would be back. The trainer in charge suggested that we check in at the gate after a couple of hours if we were going to take longer then that. He opened the gate for us and waved us through after wishing us luck.

Once the gate closed behind us Ginnette and I release our Pokemon. Shade, Lilith, Tumbleweed and her Wooper appeared around us. Shade immediately moved over to Hugo and rubbed his head against Hugo's leg.

"Thanks," Hugo told him quietly. He kneeled down to pet Shade.

I moved to stand next to Ginnette.

"Where you able to tame him?" I asked her as I pointed to the Wooper.

"He's fine," she said. "I worked with him yesterday before my mission. I got him to listen to me quickly. I took a page out of your book. He was so scared that I would order Tumbleweed to attack him that he didn't really struggle. I got him to obey my orders. I even worked out some attack commands."

"What attack commands does he know?" I asked.

"Water Gun, Mud Shot and Slam," she responded.

"That will come in handy," I said. "Most of the Pokemon we're likely to encounter will be either Rock or Ground types. I just wish I had made the time to teach Lilith some Grass type attack commands. The only attack she knows so far is Astonish."

"At least Rock and Ground types don't resist Ghost attacks," she said. "And Shade has his Grass type Hidden Power."

"True," I said.

"Can we go now?" Hugo asked.

We both turned to him. He was standing next to Shade with his arms crossed. Both of them were looking at us. Tumbleweed just flew around in lazy circles. Lilith hadn't moved from the spot she appeared. She just floated in place with a bored look on her face. The Wooper kept throwing glances at us, especially Tumbleweed.

"Yeah," I said. "Let's go."

We all began walking away from Asidia towards the mountains. Hugo and Ginnette had both been in this area of the wilds and new what to expect. It was my first time here and I couldn't help enjoying the change of scenery despite our reason for being there. Tall grass quickly became rough terrain. Several times we spotted small wild Pokemon but they ran off as soon as they saw our group.

"I guess they're not brave enough to take us all on," I thought. "That will change the father we go into the wilds. We should come across some large Pokemon or large groups soon."

"If you see a Pokemon you want to try to catch let us know," I mentioned to Hugo.

He just nodded. We continued walking towards the mountains occasionally stopping to stare at wild Pokemon from a distance. At one point we saw a large group of Pokemon grazing far from us. Hugo identified them as a herd of Phanpy and Donphan. He stopped to stare at them for a moment. Ginnette and I looked at each other for a second.

"It will be hard for us to keep most of the herd busy while you capture one of them," I stated. "If you really want one we'll help you out but there might be something else that you might like better that will be easier to catch."

He thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Let's keep going," he said.

We continued walking for a while until we finally reached the base of the mountain. We stopped to stare up at it. It was a fairly large mountain but fortunately did not have a steep climb. There was a winding path through the trees growing on the mountain that led to the top. We could see caves of different shapes and sizes spread out through the side of the mountain. I noticed that some of the caves had worn signs outside marking them as mines that the city state used.

"Let's go," Hugo said after staring at the mountain for a bit.

Ginnette and I both turned to our Pokemon and got their attention.

"We're heading into dangerous territory," I said. "You all need to be alert to your surrounding. Be ready to defend against any wild Pokemon that may attack us."

Shade barked and the rest all made some sound of agreement. We began to make our way up the mountain through the path. We walked for a bit before we had our first encounter with a wild Pokemon. As we walked around a bend in the path Ginnette was tripped by what we thought was a rock. She fell to the ground with a surprised yell and we all turned to her. She was laying on the ground staring at a Geodude that was in front of her growling. The Geodude picked up a large rock and prepared to use Rock Throw at her.

"Shade! Hidden Power!" I yelled.

Shade released his attack as the same time that the Geodude threw the rock. The attacks met in midair and the rock exploded into dust. Ginnette took the opportunity to get up and run over to us.

"Hugo?!" I asked, turning to him.

"No!" he responded. "Take it out!"

"Hidden Power!" I repeated.

"Bullet Seed! Water Gun!" Ginnette ordered her Pokemon.

All three attacks impacted the Geodude. When our Pokemon stopped their attacks all that was left of the Geodude was wet gravel. Hugo quickly turned to Ginnette.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she said. "It just surprised me. I thought it was just a normal rock."

"We'll have to be a bit more careful," I said. "That was too close for comfort."

They agreed with me. We continued on our way. After walking for a bit longer we suddenly heard sounds a few feet off the path behind some trees. After talking it over for a bit we decided to take a look. We made our way slowly and quietly using the trees as cover. Eventually we came up to a small clearing with a small cave on the side of the mountain. There were many small metallic Pokemon entering and exiting the cave.

"Those are Durants," Ginnette whispered in fright. "We need to leave before they spot us."

I agreed. Durants were much like Beedrill. Individually they were not difficult Pokemon to deal with but they lived in very large groups. They were small but very fast Pokemon. If they spotted us they would attack us in force. It would not take long for them to strip us down to bones and take the meat back to their colony.

"Hugo," I whispered. "You shouldn't even attempt to capture one. They have us heavily outnumbered and those metal pincers will slice through us easily. Let's go."

Thankfully he quickly agreed. We silently backed away from the area. Once we made it back to the path we all took a quick breather. I turned to Hugo after a moment.

"Thanks for not going for a Durant," I said. "I really don't thing that would have ended well for us."

He was going to respond when we all felt the ground begin to shake.

"Earthquake!" Ginnette yelled.

"No!" Hugo said quickly. "Hide! Take cover quickly!"

We all rushed to obey. We all just managed to find hiding spots within some bushes when a large snake-like Pokemon burst from the ground.

"Oh shit," I thought. "It's an Onyx."

"Nobody move," Hugo whispered to us. "Don't even make a sound."

We all stood frozen in fear. Even our Pokemon stood still. The Onix turned its head and scanned the area. I almost let out a whimper when it's head turned in our direction. It continued scanning the area from up high before I got an idea.

"Lilith," I said quietly. "We need you to vanish and make some noise to lead the Onyx in the direction of the Durant colony."

For once Lilith did not resist. She quickly vanished and a few seconds later we could hear some noises on the other side of the path moving away from us. The Onyx turned in that direction. It roared and dove back into the ground. The ground began to shake again and I saw a mound of earth moving in the direction of the Durant colony. A few moments later we could hear the Onyx roaring again and the sound of fighting.

"I must have spotted the Durants," I said urgently. "Let's go while its feeding on them!"

We all quickly left our hiding spots and ran in the opposite direction back down the path. Once we could no longer hear the fighting we stopped to catch our breath. Lilith appeard a moment later next to me. I thanked her for her work before turning to Hugo again.

"You actually volunteered to come here for your Ordeal?" I asked incredulously.

He gave me a crooked smile. It was the first smile I had seen on his face since before losing Bitey. The smile lifted my heart and I could tell it did the same for Ginnette.

"What do we do now?" Ginnette asked. "If we go back up the path we risk running into that giant."

"We can't go back without a Pokemon for Hugo," I said. "Let's try some of the caves on the way down. We might get lucky."

They agreed with me. We made our way back down slowly, going off the path to check the entrances the caves occasionally. Some of them went deep into the mountain and were shrouded in darkness. Others only went in a few feet and the insides were visible from the entrances. After checking several caves we found a small one that Shade immediately entered and began sniffing around. He turned to us and began barking.

"What is it?" I asked moving further in.

I walked over to the corner of the cave where Shade was and saw what looked like a nest. Next to the nest there was a small pile of nuts, berries and tubers. I patted Shade on the head.

"Good boy," I told him.

He waged his tail and followed me back outside where the rest of our group waited.

"Well?" Ginnette asked.

"There's definitely a Pokemon living in that cave," I said. "There's a nest and a small hoard of food in there. The Pokemon is probably out scavenging for more food. It's obviously a herbivore based on the food it has stored."

"Should we wait for it to come back?" Ginnette asked. "We don't know what Pokemon lives there or when it will be back. Maybe we should keep moving?"

Hugo was about to respond when I heard a noise moving quickly towards us. I turned in the direction of the noise and instantly acted.

"Get down!" I yelled.

I dove to the ground. Hugo dove for Ginnette and covered her with his body as a small projectile flew over us. The projectile turned in midair and went back in the direction it came from. We raised our heads to stare at the Pokemon that caught the projectile.

"A Cubone!" I exclaimed.

The small dinosaur-like Pokemon was glaring at us from the other side of the clearing. It was clearly furious at us for disturbing its home. It raised its bone and prepared another Bonemerang attack.

"It's mine!" Hugo said.

He stood up and pulled out his pokeball. The Cubone turned to face him directly.

"Careful Hugo!" I said. "It can easily destroy your pokeball with that bone!"

"I got this!" he called back.

The Cubone threw its weapon again. It spun through the air in Hugo's direction. As soon as the bone left it's hand the Cubone lowered its head and began running at Hugo.

"It's using Headbutt!" Ginnette yelled.

Hugo didn't respond. He simply waited until the bone was only a couple of feet away from him. He dove to the side before it could hit him. Before he even hit the ground he tossed the pokeball at the charging Pokemon. From his angle he was able to hit the body instead of the skull. The pokeball opened and sucked up the Pokemon. The ball fell to the ground and began to shake. Hugo did not wait for the result of the attempted capture. He quickly got up and ran over to where the bone had landed. He picked it up and turned to face the pokeball as it opened and released the Cubone. The Pokemon quickly shook itself before glaring at the pokeball. It moved over to it, clearly intending to destroy the ball.

"I wouldn't!" Hugo called.

The Cubone spun to look at Hugo and saw him raise its bone. It growled at him and prepared to rush at him with another Headbutt. Hugo dropped the bone in front of him and picked up a fist sized rock. He held the rock ready to bring it down on the bone. The Pokemon froze.

"That's right," he said. "If you destroy the pokeball I destroy your bone and have my friends order their Pokemon to attack you. If you try to attack me I destroy your bone and have my friends order their Pokemon to attack you. Understand?"

The Cubone turned to look at the rest of us. Ginnette and I stood tense ready to command our Pokemon. All our Pokemon stood ready to attack. Even Lilith and Ginnette's Wooper were standing ready. The Cubone turned back to Hugo with an unhappy look on it's face.

"Now that you understand the situation I'm going to give you a choice," he continued. "You can attack or try to destroy that pokeball in which case you wont live to see another day. Or, you can walk over to the pokeball and touch it to activate the capture sequence. Once the pokeball has absorbed you, you will not struggle to escape. Allow it to capture you and agree to become my Pokemon. Once you're captured I'll take you back home and let you out of the pokeball. I'll give you back your bone at that point."

"If you do agree to become my Pokemon you will have to obey my every command," he said. "Any disobedience will result in punishment. If I give you your bone back and you try to attack me at that point or any point in the future then I wont even bother to keep you. I'll have one of my friend's Pokemon finish you off, but not before I force you to watch as I destroy your bone."

"On the other hand," he continued. "If you obey me loyally then I will take care of you to the best of my abilities. I will feed you daily and heal you when you are sick or injured. You will never have to worry about finding food or suffer from injuries as long as you are my Pokemon. It's up too you. What will you choose?"

We all stood still as the Cubone struggled to make a decision. Finally it gave a resigned nod and walked over to the pokeball. It reached down to touch the ball and it opened again to suck it back inside. This time the ball did not shake. We all heard a click and could see that the button on the ball was white. The capture was complete without any struggle. Hugo walked over to the pokeball and picked it. He stared at the ball in his hands for a moment.

"How did you know that would work?" I asked him.

"I didn't," he responded. "I was gambling on how attached it was to the bone and it's desire to keep on living. It could have tried to escape but then it would be out in the wilds without its primary weapon. Cubone are Ground type Pokemon but they only learn three Ground type attacks naturally. All three of these attacks rely on its bone although it can be taught other Ground type attacks that don't require the bone. Obviously it wanted to live and if it did manage to escape then it would have to try to find another bone in the wilds and go through the process of infusing the bone with its Ground type energy. This new bone would not be as strong as its original which would put it at a disadvantage."

"So you basically blackmailed it into agreeing to become your Pokemon," Ginnette said.

"Blackmail is such an ugly word," he said.

"But accurate," I said. I smiled at him. "Congratulations."

He smiled back at me. "Thanks."

"Now that you have a new Pokemon can we go back to the city state," Ginnette asked. "I really don't like being here."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Let's head on back. Our job here is done."

Hugo agreed with us but first went into the cave. He opened his backpack and began putting the Cubone's hoard inside.

"No sense letting this go to waste," he said cheerfully.

I had to laugh. Ginnette looked like she was trying not to. Once he was done with the food he placed the bone in the backpack as well and put it back on. We began to make our way carefully down the mountain. Luckily we did not encounter any aggressive wild Pokemon. We made it to the base and began walking quickly back to Asidia. Before long we made it back to the gate and the guards opened it for us. We entered the city state and quickly went to the nearest train station. We took a magnet train back to the trainer district. By the time we got back is was midday.

"Plenty of time for Hugo to begin working on his new Pokemon," I thought. "Things are starting to look up for him."


	18. Chapter 18

Notes: Really sorry for the wait. Work has been keeping me busy. The long time skip will happen soon. I'm planning on one more mission after this chapter before the time skip.

Chapter 18

Its been a few weeks since the three of us went into the mountains to help Hugo find a new Pokemon. Since that time, the three of us had settled into a routine. Each of us also went through some changes.

I continued to take missions every other day while using the days in between to train or rest with my Pokemon. Both Shade and Lilith grew stronger and learned new attack commands. Shade had managed to learn Double Team, Shadow Ball and Payback. Lilith now knew Confuse Ray, Razor Leaf, and Leech Seed. Shade was still my most loyal Pokemon. Lilith would obey me, usually sullenly, but never showed me the affection that Shade did.

On a personal note, I kept in contact with my mother and brother. At least twice a week I would call them when I was sure they would both be home. My mother continued to be supportive despite the fear I could still hear in her voice whenever I spoke to her on the Center's videophone. Bobby never once expressed fear of my being a trainer. On the contrary, whenever I spoke to him he would ask me about my Pokemon and the missions I had completed. Every time I spoke to them I would have excuses ready for when my mother would ask me when I would visit them again. Not once since my visit did I speak to my father since our last conversation. It was probably for the best.

Ginnette became more confident as a trainer. She would normally accept three or four missions each week, though sometimes she took on missions back-to-back without breaks between missions. She would rarely ask me for help with her Pokemon anymore. Tumbleweed and her Wooper, who she named Kai, never gave her any problems. They would always obey her without hesitation whether it was on a mission or in a training session.

Hugo went through the biggest changes as a result of the loss of Bitey. He was no longer reckless and eager for action. On missions, he kept a cool and level head. He never tried to take on wild Pokemon that had clear type advantages anymore.

Hugo's Cubone was a female he named Cora. Cora turned out to have a honorable streak. She honored the agreement she made with Hugo and obeyed him without question. It was obvious that she was not happy having to obey a human but never once let her unhappiness interfere with training or missions.

Hugo continued to accept five missions each week. Half of his pay went to his mother to help her with his sisters. He kept enough money to pay for food and trainer supplies for himself. After a couple of weeks he was able to buy another pokeball so he could capture a second Pokemon for himself. The day that he bought the pokeball he went to the Power Plant in the industrial district. He came back a couple of hours later with a newly captured Magnemite. The Magnemite, who he named Boron, was an emotionless Pokemon. It understood that since it was captured it could either obey Hugo or be killed so Hugo could try again with a different Pokemon. It gave him no problems during training or missions.

There was also a change in the relationship between Hugo and Ginnette. The day after he captured Cora, Ginnette went to Hugo in private and apologized for her actions on the day that he lost Bitey. He accepted her apology but there was a new tension between them that wasn't there before. A week after her apology both of them came to me and informed me that they were in a relationship. I was happy for both of them but also a little worried about how this would affect our dynamic. I tried to avoid them as much as I could at first until Hugo cornered me and told me to stop being an idiot. After that, things went back to normal between the three of us despite their relationship.

We all continued accepting missions and training our Pokemon. For the most part we took our own missions and trained by ourselves. Occasionally, we would train as a group and help each other out.

Eventually the time came where both Hugo and Ginnette felt it was time to move out of the barracks. They surprised me one day when they told me that they found a one bedroom apartment in one of the residential buildings and that they were going to move in together. I tried to be happy and supportive but secretly thought that they were moving too fast in their relationship. However, since they both seemed very happy and excited I did not voice my concerns and only congratulated them.

Having my friends moving out of the barracks and getting their own place was the push I needed to find my own.

"What do you think?"

I was currently examining a studio apartment in the residential building that Hugo and Ginnette lived in. After speaking to the trainer in charge of the building, I asked him to show me a studio on the first floor. The studio was small, only a little bit bigger that my old bedroom in my parents house. Most of the studio was a bedroom/living room that came already furnished with a futon. There was an old television set on a small table in front of the futon. There was a small closet next to the futon for storage. In a corner of the studio was a very small kitchen area that had a two burner stove, a small refrigerator, a small sink and some cabinets. Next to the kitchen area was a small table with two chairs. Finally, there was a door which led to a tiny bathroom that had a small shower stall.

"How much is it?" I asked the apartment manager.

"Monthly rent is $350," he said. "You don't pay for utilities obviously."

I thought about that for a moment. It wasn't a bad deal. The apartment itself was very small but it would only be for myself. If I kept completing three or four missions each week I would have plenty of money to pay for the apartment and still be able to afford food and trainer supplies.

"What's the policy on having Pokemon outside their pokeballs in here?" I asked.

"You can have your Pokemon outside their pokeballs as long as you understand that any damage to the apartment or the furniture will cost you for repairs or replacements," he answered. "Obviously you shouldn't have very big or heavy Pokemon out in the apartment. Also, be careful with Pokemon that are naturally inclined towards certain actions, like how Rattatta have to chew on things to keep their fangs sharp. Just use your common sense and you should be fine."

I nodded at that. "I'll take it," I said.

I signed all the necessary paperwork and paid my first month's rent. Since it was early in the afternoon and I had no missions today I decided to go to the Center and move all my things right away. It only took me two trips as I didn't have many things to move. Once I had everything moved I quickly unpacked and organized everything to my liking and sat down on the futon. After a moment I pulled out Shade and Lilith's pokeballs and released them. They both appeared in front of me and looked around curiously.

"Well guys," I said. "What do you think of our new home?"

They both began to explore the studio. I had to order Lilith not to phase through the wall before she went into the next apartment. Shade sniffed every corner of the studio before he jumped on the futon and sat next to me.

"Excited?" I asked. "You wont have to stay inside your pokeball while we're home. You can sleep out here if you want from now own."

Shade waged his tail happily and barked. A few seconds later he turned to face the front door. I was up and moving to the door when I heard a knock. I opened the door to see Hugo and Ginnette standing in the hallway.

"Hello neighbor," Hugo said cheerfully.

"Hey," I said. "How did you guys know I was here?"

"We went to the Center to look for you and they told us that you moved out into your own apartment," Ginnette said. "It wasn't hard to find your apartment. I figured you would pick one in our building. The manager knew we were friends so he told us which studio you picked."

"Come on in," I said. "Make yourselves at home."

They both entered the studio. I motioned Shade to get of the futon and offered it to them. I then grabbed a seat from the dining table and moved it next to the futon for me to sit. We all took our seats with Shade laying down on the floor between us. Lilith was floating around in the kitchen area ignoring us.

"This is nice," Ginnette said after looking around.

"It's tiny," Hugo said.

"Hugo!" Ginnette said and slapped him on his arm.

"It's fine," I said. "It is small but that's fine with me. I don't need a lot of space right now. Maybe when I get promoted to C-rank I'll look into upgrading."

"I think this suits you," Ginnette said.

"Thanks," I said. "So, why were you guys looking for me?"

"Originally we wanted to know if you wanted to have lunch with us," she said. "We found this nice little restaurant in the commercial district that is trainer friendly. When we found out you moved into your own place we decided to take you to the commercial district to get you some of the basics you need for the apartment."

"I already have everything I need," I protested.

"I bet you don't even have sheets for your futon," she retorted. "And what about dishes for the kitchen?"

"Not to mention some food," Hugo added.

"I was planning on getting those things," I said. "Just not right away."

"Let's just go now," Ginnette said. "We want to help you buy some things. Think of it as a housewarming present."

"Just agree with her man," Hugo said. "It's not worth arguing about it."

I agreed reluctantly. I recalled Shade and Lilith and we left the building to go to the train station. We went to the commercial district where Ginnette immediately took charge. She led us to several stores that sold what we were looking for low prices. They both pitched in to help me get started. After we were done we went to the restaurant that they spoke of where I insisted on paying for all three of us to thank them for their help. They could both tell I was going to be stubborn about it and didn't argue.

We enjoyed our time in the restaurant and went to a food market from there. I didn't have a lot of room in my fridge so I could only buy two bags of groceries. After buying the food we took a magnet train back to the trainer district with all my new things. As we were walking to our building I was stopped as we passed the Center.

"Jacob!" a voice called out.

We all stopped to turn to the sound of the voice. Fred, the B-rank trainer who supervised my shift at the southern gate, was walking towards us.

"Fred," I said. "It's been a while."

"Sure has," he agreed. "I went to the Center to look for you and was told that you had moved out today. Congratulations on getting your own place."

"Thanks," I said absently. "Why were you looking for me?"

"I'm signed up for a C-rank mission for tomorrow and was wondering if you wanted to team up with me to complete it," he said.

"A C-rank mission?" I asked.

He nodded. "Normally I handle any C-ranks I accept by myself," he said. "However, I'll have to go into the western forest for tomorrow's mission. Even though I'm B-rank, it's never a good idea to enter the forest without backup."

"What's the mission?" I asked.

"Let's go to the Center and I'll bring up the mission so you can read it," he suggested. "If you're interested, we can add you on to the mission right then and there."

This would be my first C-rank mission. I thought about it for a moment before turning to Hugo and Ginnette.

"You guys mind taking my things to my apartment for me?" I asked. "I shouldn't be long. Just make yourselves at home until I get back."

"Okay," Hugo said.

"That's fine," Ginnette said.

I handed over the bags I was carrying as well as my apartment key. The went on to our residential building while I followed Fred to the Center. We went to the computer room where he quickly brought up the mission.

Mission Rank: C

Reward: $150

Location: The Wilds

Summary: Textile Factory in the industrial district requires String Shot producing caterpillar Pokemon. A minimum of six Pokemon required for mission completion. Any additional Pokemon will earn $40 bonus pay each. Trainer has 24 hours to complete mission on accepting. Acquire non-registered mission pokeballs from the Pokemart. Trainer must hand over captured Pokemon and unused pokeballs to the mission office to receive payment.

"String Shot producing caterpillar Pokemon?" I asked Fred.

He nodded. "Those are Pokemon such as Caterpie and Wurmple," he said. "Several different Bug types are capable of producing String Shot but the caterpillar Bug types tend to be pretty weak and easy to hold in captivity, even for civilians. The textile factory in the industrial district keeps these Pokemon locked up in a glass room. There is a forest habitat in there with plenty of food. The habitat is also filled with Everstones to keep them from evolving. Problem is, caterpillar Pokemon that aren't allowed to evolve don't live for very long. The captive caterpillar Pokemon only live for about three months max so the factory requests a capture mission at least once a month."

"What do they need the Sting Shot for exactly?" I asked.

"The factory uses the Sting Shot to manufacture silk that is very popular with the upper class," he answered. "It is very durable and very soft. Since the amount of silk they produce depends on how many Pokemon they have and how fast they produce it, they sell the silk at a high price."

"Typical," I said. "We do all the hard work for standard mission pay and the clients make a fortune."

"Yeah," he agreed. "If we do team up we'll have to split the reward according to rank but I figure between the two of us we can capture enough to more than make up for it. Whatever bonus pay we earn we can split evenly between us. How does that sound?"

I thought about it. On the one hand, I would only earn $45 for completing a C-rank mission if we only captured the minimum number of Pokemon. On the other hand, this would be good experience for when I started taking C-rank missions and I could possibly earn more than standard pay if we managed to capture more than six Pokemon.

I nodded finally. "Sounds good," I said.

Fred quickly hit some keys on the computer and selected the option to add another trainer to his mission. I entered my information when the computer prompted us and received confirmation within a minute.

"That's that," Fred said. "Let's go to the Pokemart to get the mission pokeballs before they close. I want to head over to the forest early tomorrow."

I agreed and we went to the Pokemart together. When we told the trainer behind the register that we needed mission pokeballs he quickly verified our mission. Once he received verification he handed each of us six pokeballs. These pokeballs were colored different that standard pokeballs although they had the same functions. Instead of the top being colored red they were a dark green color. As we were starting to leave the Pokemart I stopped at the entrance to think for a moment. I turned back to the trainer behind the register.

"I'd like to buy a standard pokeball please," I said.

He opened the case behind the register and took out one of the standard red and white pokeballs.

"That will be $200," he said.

Fortunately I still had some money saved up, even after paying my first month's rent and buying some supplies today. I swiped my card and paid for the pokeball. The trainer completed the registration process and handed me the pokeball.

"Good luck on the mission," he said. "And good luck with whatever Pokemon you end up catching."

"Thanks," I said.

I followed Fred out of the Pokemart and then out of the Center.

"Decided to get a new Pokemon?" he asked me.

I nodded. "I think its time I got a new one. Don't really have an idea of what I want though. I'll just play it by ear and see if I come across something interesting."

"Good idea," he said. He checked the time. "I have some errands to run. Let's plan on meeting tomorrow at the western gate by 9AM. Alright?"

I nodded again. "I'll be there," I said.

We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I went back to my apartment to find Hugo sitting on my futon while Ginnette prepared some food.

"I hope you don't mind," she said. "We put away everything we bought and I figured that we would all be hungry soon."

"You did say to make ourselves at home," Hugo added.

"So I did," I said.

I released Shade and Lilith from their pokeballs. Shade immediately laid down on the floor in front of Hugo while Lilith just floated around the apartment ignoring us. I sat down beside Hugo and told them that I agreed to team up with Fred for his mission. I could tell that both were a bit envious that I would be going on a C-rank mission tomorrow. To get their minds off that I mentioned that I had also bought a pokeball at the Pokemart.

Ginnette stopped preparing food and looked at me in surprise. "You're going to capture another Pokemon?" she asked.

"Maybe," I said. "If I find a Pokemon that I might be interested in tomorrow I would rather have a pokeball handy just in case."

"Good idea," Hugo said. "That way if you come across an uncommon or rare Pokemon you wont be kicking yourself later for not being able to catch it."

"Yeah," I said.

Ginnette finished with the food and served us all. I let the two of them eat at the dining table while I ate sitting on the futon. When Ginnette wasn't looking I snuck pieces of food to Shade who was sitting in front of me staring at my plate. We talked as we ate and then continued talking once the food was done and we finished cleaning up. Once it started getting late Ginnette excused herself and Hugo and dragged him out of the apartment. They both wished me luck on my mission as they were leaving. I decided to try to get some sleep early to be rested for tomorrow's mission.

I pulled out the futon and placed sheets on the mattress. Once my bed was set up I quickly changed into my pajamas. Before I got into bed I turned to Shade and Lilith.

"Do you two want to stay outside your pokeballs from now on while I sleep?" I asked them. " I wont mind if you two stay out as long as you don't wreck the place. And no phasing through the walls to enter any other apartments," I said to Lilith.

Lilith gave me a disgruntled look before floating over to her pokeball. I took that to mean she would rather stay in her ball and recalled her. I then turned to Shade. He barked once then jumped on the bed and curled up on one end.

"That's fine," I said. "Just try not to take up too much space."

He gave a yawn and closed his eyes. I followed his example and got into bed after turning off the lights. I made myself comfortable and closed my eyes. I fell asleep to the sounds of Shade's light snoring.


	19. Chapter 19

Notes: This is the last chapter before the long time skip. I promise.

Chapter 19

I woke up very early the next morning thanks to Shade. He woke up before me and began licking my face until I finally woke up. When I tried to cover myself he just bit down on the blanket and pulled it off me. I sat up and checked the time before glaring at him.

"It's not even 6AM yet," I told him. "The sun is not even up. Why did you wake me up this early?"

He moved to the kitchen area and began barking. Figuring that he was hungry, I sighed and got up to join him. After I poured some of his food into a bowl and set it down for him I filled my kettle with water and put it on the stove. I turned on the stove then sat down at the dining table to wait for the water to boil.

"I don't have to be at the western gate until 9AM," I thought. "I'm going to need a lot of coffee or I wont be able to function."

Shade finished with his food then sat down next to me. I looked down to stare at him a moment.

"New rule," I told him. "Until the sun has gone up you are no longer allowed to wake me up. It won't kill you to wait a hour or two for your food."

He whined before going back to the futon. He jumped on it and laid down before closing his eyes.

"Nice," I muttered.

Once the water was done boiling I made myself some coffee. After downing the first cup I prepared another cup and began making myself a simple breakfast. Once the food was done I sat down to eat and finish off the coffee. By the time I was done eating and cleaned up after myself the sun was up. I quickly dressed and moved to the futon to prod Shade. He opened his eyes and stared at me sleepily.

"Let's go outside," I said. "Lilith needs to eat too. We'll hang around the training grounds until it's time for the mission."

He didn't even move from his spot as I recalled him into his pokeball. I grabbed my backpack and then left the apartment. After walking for a few minutes I found an empty training ground and released both Shade and Lilith. He immediately began exploring the training ground while she just floated in front of me.

"Food," was all I said.

I took out some of her food and set it down on the ground. She slowly floated down and began to eat. I began to follow behind Shade as he explored. Once Lilith was done eating she slowly floated behind us. We continued wandering the training grounds until it was time to head to the western gate. I recalled both of them and made my way to the train station. I took a magnet train and made it to the gate with 20 minutes to spare. Fred had not yet arrived so I waited outside the guard station for him. While I was waiting the trainer in charge of the shift kept me company. Finally, when there was only two minutes left until 9AM, Fred ran up to the gate.

"Sorry," he said to me breathlessly. "My errands ran later than I thought they would. I didn't get much sleep."

"It's alright," I said. "You ready to go?"

He nodded. "You have your mission pokeballs?"

I patted my backpack. "All set."

"Then let's head out," he said.

The gate shift supervisor wished us luck and signaled the trainer manning the gate to open it. We moved passed the gate and stopped as the gate closed behind us. In front of us we could see the path that led to the forest. Fred pulled out four pokeballs and released his Pokemon. A Poliwhirl, Swellow, Rhyhorn and Golbat appeared in front of us. I couldn't help stare at the Golbat and think about Bitey.

"Well?" he asked.

"Huh?" I responded. "Oh."

I pulled out my two pokeballs and released Shade and Lilith. Shade tensed up as he saw the other Pokemon before I calmed him down. Lilith just looked at everyone and then ignored us.

"What's with that one?" he asked me while pointing at Lilith.

"She's not really adjusting well to having a trainer," I said.

He frowned. "Can you trust her to watch your back?"

"Yes," I said, staring at Lilith. "She knows what will happen if she turns on me."

Lilith shot me a glare before she went back to ignoring us. Fred nodded after a moment.

"Let's get started then," he said.

The two of us began walking towards the forest with our Pokemon spread out around us.

"Have you been to the forest before?" Fred asked me after walking in silence for a few minutes.

I nodded. "I took my Ordeal in the forest," I said.

He winced. "Damn," he said. "The forest is actually worse than the mountains when it comes to the Ordeals. I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "I'm not," I said. "I wouldn't have gotten Shade otherwise."

"True," he said. "That Poochyena is crazy loyal to you. You really lucked out with him."

"I know," I said. I glanced over to Lilith who was out of earshot. "I just wish Lilith was more cooperative. Honestly, I don't really trust her outside her pokeball unless I have Shade with me."

"Some Pokemon just can't be fully tamed," he said. "And I don't mean species-wise. It's possible that a different Pumpkaboo would not have given you any trouble."

"Any advice you can give me?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Give it a little more time," he suggested. "If she remains uncooperative you might have to either put her down or see if you can find another trainer that will trade for her. Someone else might have better luck."

I nodded. "I'll thing about it," I said.

After walking for a bit longer we finally reached the edge of the forest. We stopped before entering. Fred reached into his backpack and took out two radios and handed me one.

"Here," he said. "These are special radios that have a feature that we can use to triangulate each other's location. I don't want us wandering too far from each other."

I took the offered radio. "I thought we would be moving through the forest together?" I asked.

He shook his head. "It will be better if we have a little distance between us," he said. "We'll make less noise that way and wont alert too many Pokemon of our presence. We'll remain close enough that if one of us is in trouble the other can quickly move to their location to provide backup. Just keep your radio ready in case of anything."

I nodded slowly. "That makes sense I guess," I said. "So, what's the plan?"

"The Pokemon we're looking for will most likely be up in the trees," he said. "We both have Pokemon that can either fly or float up and knock the Pokemon down. Caterpillar Pokemon are not really difficult to capture so you wont have to weaken them too much. Just be careful not to accidentally kill the Pokemon you're trying to capture."

I nodded. "So we need either Caterpie, Wurmple, Sewaddle or Scatterbug right?" I asked.

He nodded. "Weedle would be acceptable too but I'm not brave enough to go after any," he said. "If you do come across any Weedle you should retreat quickly. They never stray far from their hive. If they alert any Beedrill to our presence then we're in trouble."

I nodded. "Got it," I said.

"Check in every 15 minutes," he said. "Between the two of us this shouldn't take very long. Let's give ourselves four hours or until we've both used up our mission pokeballs."

I nodded again. We walked through the forest together for a few minutes. Finally, Fred wished me luck and moved away from me. I kept my eye on him until I could no longer see him through the trees. I turned to Shade and Lilith.

"Right guys," I said. "We're looking for certain Bug types. Keep and eye on the trees but be ready in case a Pokemon on the ground tries to rush at us. If you spot one try to let me know without alerting the Pokemon. If it's one that we need I want Lilith to use Astonish to try to knock it from the tree. Once it's on the ground Shade will use a weak Snarl on it. Our objective is to capture the Pokemon so try not to kill them."

After getting confirmation from them we began slowly walking through the forest. I kept my eyes on the trees but would periodically scan the area around us. After walking for a while Shade made a soft sound to get my attention. I turned to the direction he was looking and spotted what he was staring at after a few seconds. I almost missed the Caterpie as it's body blended in with the leaves it was currently munching on. The Pokemon didn't seem to notice us.

"Lilith," I ordered quietly.

Lilith glanced at me before slowly vanishing from sight. Shade and I waited for a few seconds for Lilith to start our plan. Just as I started to wonder what was taking so long she appeared suddenly next to the Caterpie and let out a shout while releasing waves of Ghost type energy. The surprised Caterpie was knocked off the branch and fell from the tree. It landed with a thud on the ground.

Shade moved quickly for his part of the plan. Once he was close enough he used an underpowered Snarl on the Caterpie which was just starting to try to right itself. The Caterpie was knocked over again and I threw one of the mission pokeballs at it. The Pokemon was sucked up and the ball shook a couple of seconds before stopping.

I squashed the desire to yell in triumph. Instead I walked over to the pokeball and picked it up. I moved over to Shade and began to pet him.

"Good job," I said. "Both of you."

Shade wagged his tail happily. Lilith just gave me a bored look. I stopped petting Shade and we continued our mission. Every 15 minutes either Fred or I would radio each other to check in. I ran into several Pokemon while looking for more caterpillars. Many of those Pokemon tried to attack me but were chased off by Shade. At one point I actually walked into a Spinarak web and came very close to being the Pokemon's meal. Luckily Shade was able to kill the Spinarak before it could actually attack me.

By the time we reached the two hour mark I had managed to capture four more Pokemon. I captured another Caterpie, a Scatterbug and two Wurmple. After capturing the last Wurmple I started to get the feeling that I was being watched. I kept glancing out of the corner of my eyes whenever I thought I saw movement. A couple of times I could have sworn I saw a flash of white but when I turned to look I saw nothing there. I began to grow nervous and I could tell my emotions were affecting Shade as well.

"We only need one more," I told them. "Once we capture one more we can meet up with Fred and then head back home."

We continued walking a bit longer when Shade suddenly stopped and began to sniff the air. He turned and began walking through the trees slowly. I was curious of what he sensed and began to follow him quietly. He stopped suddenly behind a tree and I crouched down behind him. I carefully glanced around the tree a saw what Shade tracked down. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. In a small clearing I saw an orange canine Pokemon with black markings. The Pokemon had its full attention on what was left of a Skitty.

"A Growlithe," I thought in disbelief. "What's a Growlithe doing in the forest? They normally live in grasslands."

I continued to stare at the Pokemon until I felt Shade nudge my leg. When I looked down I saw him staring at me with an expectant look on his face. I turned around and saw Lilith staring at the Growlithe with a look I couldn't decipher. I turned back to the Growlithe.

"There's no way I can pass up this opportunity," I thought. "I have to be careful. Lilith has a type disadvantage and Shade is smaller then that Growlithe."

"Lilith," I said quietly. "Use Astonish on that Growlithe then immediately follow it up with Confuse Ray. Whether the Confuse Ray takes or not I want you to back away after that. Understand?"

Lilith slowly made an affirmative sound. I turned to Shade.

"Ready to add another member to our pack?" I asked him.

He made an affirmative sound as well and stood staring at the Growlithe intently. It was almost done eating the Skitty. It was time to act.

"Now Lilith," I said.

Lilith vanished from sight. A few seconds later she appeared in front of the Growlithe and landed a direct hit. The attack didn't seem to do much damage but it caused the Pokemon to flinch. Lilith quickly shot a Confuse Ray at the Growlithe then floated back a few feet.

"Shade! Assurance!" I ordered.

Shade charged at the Growlithe while gathering his Dark energy. The Growlithe turned to face him and opened it's mouth, releasing dozens of tiny fireballs at him. The Ember attack hit Shade and caused him to veer off with a yelp. He dropped and began rolling on the ground.

"Damn!" I thought. "The Confuse Ray didn't take!"

It was the Growlithe's turn to charge at Shade. I could see it opening its mouth and getting ready to Bite Shade.

"Double Team!" I ordered.

Shade stood up facing the charging Growlithe. He quickly darted to the side just before the Growlithe landed it's attack. Shade began to run around the Pokemon while making real looking afterimages. The Growlithe kept spinning around trying to spot the real Shade before it stopped and sniffed the air.

"Shit!" I thought. "It's using Odor Sleuth!"

"Shade! Move!" I yelled.

My warning came too late. The Growlithe leaped at Shade and bit down on one of his back legs as he tried to dodge. He let out a loud yelp as the Growlithe began shaking his leg.

"Sand-Attack!" I ordered.

Shade managed to use his front paws to dig up some dirt and kick it behind him. Some of the dirt landed directly in the Growlithe's eyes and it let Shade go with a yelp. It tried to use it's own paws to wipe the dirt form it's eyes.

"Howl!" I ordered. "Then use Payback!"

Shade quickly let out a howl that increased his attack power. He then began gathering Dark energy while converting the pain he was in into more energy. He lunged at the Growlithe and hit it hard. The Dark energy plus the Howl powered attack was enough to send the Growlithe back several feet. It landed hard before standing back up. It stood facing Shade but held one of its front legs curled up protectively next to its body.

"It's injured Shade!" I yelled. "Use Shadow Ball!"

Shade stood still and concentrated. His body began to glow, this time with purple energy. Once he gathered enough Ghost energy, he formed it into a ball and released it at the Growlithe. It tried to dodge but with its injured leg it couldn't move fast enough. The attack hit it on it's side and sent it flying back again. It landed on the ground but didn't stand up this time. I worried that Shade killed it by accident at first until I saw that it was still breathing. I quickly pulled out my spare pokeball and tossed it at the Growlithe. The ball hit the Pokemon and sucked it up. It shook several times before finally stopping. I stared at the ball for a few seconds before dropping to my knees and taking a deep breath. Shade walked up to me while favoring his injured leg.

"We did it," I said.

He barked once before he laid down next to me. I quickly examined his injured leg.

"It's not bad," I reassured him. "It just needs some Potion and some wrapping. That will do until I get you back to the Center and heal you. But first," I said.

I stood up and began walking towards the pokeball. I couldn't help the wide grin that was on my face. I just captured an uncommon Fire type Pokemon.

"Wait until Hugo and Ginnette hear about this," I thought.

I reached the pokeball and was about to pick it up when I saw a flash a white at the corner of my eyes again. This time when I turned to look at it I saw a white form rushing up to me. It raised one of its limbs as it was about to reach me and I instinctively raised an arm in defense. The creature brought down its limb and I heard a crack a second before I felt burning pain radiate from my right arm. I fell back with a yell and got a good look at my attacker. It was a Mankey. The Pokemon was staring at me with an enraged look in it's eyes and was breathing hard.

"Why was this Mankey following me for so long?" I thought as I cradled my arm and began crawling away from it. "Unless...this can't be the same Mankey that I almost caught on my Ordeal!"

The Mankey jumped at me with the intent to finish me off. Just before he hit me a dark form intercepted it in midair. The Mankey landed back a few feet. Shade stood protectively in front of me growling at the Mankey. The wild Pokemon focused it's rage on Shade.

"Shade! Assurance!" I ordered.

Shade darted forwards readying his attack. The Mankey just stood there waiting. Just as Shade leaped to attack the Mankey, it moved to the side and grabbed Shade in midair. It then began spinning while it kept it's grip on Shade.

"No!" I thought. "That's Seismic Toss! It will do extra damage to a Dark type like Shade!"

I quickly looked around until I spotted Lilith. She just floated in the air watching the events unfold.

"Lilith!" I yelled. "Help Shade!"

Instead of moving to obey me she just gave me a cruel look. She then turned back to watch just as the Mankey released Shade and he went flying. He landed hard several feet away from us. My heart froze for a moment until I saw Shade trying to get back on his feet. I let out a relieved sigh before I saw that I now had the Mankey's full attention again. It slowly made its way towards me. I began crawling away from it again.

"Lilith!" I yelled. "Help!"

Lilith just stayed put. She was clearly enjoying the situation while feeding on my fear. I suddenly remembered the radio in by pocket and quickly took it out. Unfortunately, when I tried to use it all I could hear was static.

"Damn!" I thought. "It must have been damaged when I landed!"

"Lilith!" I begged.

The Mankey was on me. It looked down at me while raising an arm to finish me off.

"Air Cutter!" a voice yelled.

We all turned to look in surprise just as the attack hit the Mankey. It was sent tumbling away from me. Once it stopped, it struggled to stand while facing the new threat. The Mankey was bleeding from several cuts that were made by the Air Cutter. Fred stood at the edge of the clearing with his Golbat hovering in front of him. His Rhyhorn and Poliwhirl stood on either side of him. The Mankey rushed forwards intending to go down fighting.

"Aerial Ace!" he commanded.

From the opposite side of the clearing a blue blur flew at Mankey. Fred's Swellow hit the Mankey from behind and it fell forward. It struggled and failed to stand.

"Stomp!" Fred commanded.

His Rhyhorn moved to obey. It rushed up to the Mankey and reared up on its hind legs as it reached it's target. The Mankey looked up just as the Rhyhorn brought down its front legs on him. A second later I cringed as I heard a loud crunch and saw the Rhyhorn crush the Mankey under its feet. It was dead instantly.

"Thanks," I told him breathlessly.

"Air Cutter!" he ordered.

I froze in shock wondering what Fred was doing until I saw his Golbat's attack hit Lilith who was about to attack me from behind. The attack did a great deal of damage. She was dripping ectoplasm on the ground and could barely remain floating.

"I had a feeling that she would turn on you someday," Fred said calmly. "I just didn't think it would happen this soon. She's your Pokemon. What are you going to do about her?"

I turned to stare at Lilith. She was looking at me pleadingly. I turned to Shade who had just managed to limp to me. He was staring at Lilith with an angry look on his face. I turned back to Lilith.

"Do you remember what I told you I would do I you ever tried to attack me again?" I asked coldly.

She began making begging sounds.

"I told you I would give you only one more chance," I continued. "Now that chance is up."

I turned back to Shade.

"Finish her," I ordered calmly.

Shade gathered all his remaining energy and released a Snarl attack. Lilith attempted to escape but could not due to her injuries. The attack hit her and she let out a shrill scream. She stopped screaming suddenly and her body dropped to the ground. We stood watching as the body burst into emerald flame and was slowly consumed. Once there was nothing left both Shade and I dropped to the ground. Fred quickly kneeled next to me.

"Are you okay," he asked.

"I've had better days," I said.

He prodded my swollen arm causing me to wince in pain. He shook his head.

"Looks like a broken arm," he said. "When we get back we'll take you to the nearest hospital and have them take care of it. Don't worry, they have a special Potion that heals broken bones. Your arm will be fine in a few days."

I nodded. "Great," I said. "By the way, how did you know I was in trouble? My radio wasn't working when I tried to call for help."

"I figured as much when I wasn't able to get through to you," he said. "I finished capturing six Pokemon for our mission and was already on my way to you. Good thing your radio was still sending out a signal and I was able to triangulate your location. I got here just in time."

"Yes you did," I said. I sighed. "It's my fault. I was so caught up on trying to capture a Growlithe that I did not pay attention the my surroundings."

He looked surprised. "You caught a Growlithe?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Lucky," he said.

"Not so lucky," I said as I motioned to my arm and Shade.

"I guess so," he said. "I guess we're calling it a day. I managed to catch six Pokemon to fulfill the mission requirement. How did you do?"

"Five," I said.

"Great," he said happily. "That means we each get an extra $100 on top of our mission pay."

"Good thing too," I said. "I don't think I'll be able to take on any missions with my main arm broken."

"You can still take some easy low risk missions if you want," he suggested. "In any case, we should get you to a hospital to get that taken care of."

"The Center first," I said. "I want to heal Shade and the Growlithe."

"You first," he countered. "Just put Shade back in his pokeball. He wont get any worse while in there."

I was about to object before he interrupted.

"I outrank you remember?" he asked. "Don't make me make it a direct order."

I slumped. "Fine," I said.

I recalled Shade back into his pokeball and stood up with Fred's help. We started to make our way back to the city state with his Pokemon protecting us. Luckily it was my arm that was broken so I didn't slow us down. By the time we made it back it was early afternoon. Fred waved off the concerned trainers at the gate and took me straight to the nearest hospital. Fred's diagnostic was correct, I had a broken arm. The doctor set my arm and then wrapped a cast around it. He then gave me a nasty tasking potion and told me to return in a week to have the cast taken off. Fred and I thanked the doctor and left the hospital. We went to the nearest train station. Fred stopped me as we reached the station.

"Let me take your mission pokeballs," he said. "We don't both have to go to the mission office since we were on a single mission. I'll hand in the pokeballs and complete the mission for us. The pay will be deposited into your account. Go back to the Center and take care of your Pokemon. Then go home and get some rest. That's and order."

I awkwardly took out all six pokeballs and handed them over. I thanked him for everything then got on a magnet train. When I made it back to the trainer district I went straight to the computer room in the Center and sat down at a station. I placed Shade and the Growlithe's pokeballs in the pokeball device and got the healing program started. While they were being healed I scanned the Growlithe's pokeball and then brought up her information.

Species: Growlithe, The Puppy Pokemon

Type: Fire

Gender: Female

Age: Three Years

Nature: Adamant

Summary: Growlithe is a quadruped, canine Pokemon. It has orange fur with black stripes along its back and legs. The fur on its muzzle, chest, belly, and tail is cream-colored, and there is an additional tuft of cream-colored fur on top of its head. Growlithe's coat is noticeably longer on its chest and tail. It has gray eyes, a black nose, and large, round ears. Its forepaws have two visible claws, while its hind paws have three toes each. Each paw has a brown pad.

Growlithe will fearlessly defend its territory from others. It drives threats away fiercely barking at or biting them, and even challenges larger, stronger enemies. Growlithe also has a powerful olfactory sense. It is able to smell the emotions of others, and never forgets a scent once smelled. However, strong, unpleasant smells can disable its sense of smell for short periods. Growlithe lives in grassy plains.

"A female Growlithe?" I thought. "That's quite a catch. I'll take her to the training grounds tomorrow to start working on her."

Once the device was done healing them I decided to obey Fred's order and went back to my apartment. As soon as I entered I released Shade from his pokeball. He rushed up to me as soon as he appeared. I bent down to pet him and let him sniff my arm.

"I'm okay," I told him. "I just have to take it easy for a week. Don't worry about me."

He barked at me before moving to the kitchen area. I gave a short laugh.

"Okay," I said. "You deserve a good meal for all the work you did today."

I went to the kitchen area and took out his food. I gave him a double portion and he dug in. I put his food away and walked back over to the futon. Fortunately, I hadn't folded it back into its chair mode so I didn't have to struggle with it now. I managed to strip down to my boxers and laid down. Once Shade finished with his food he moved to the futon and jumped on. He was asleep in minutes. I just laid there thinking about everything that happened today.

After about a hour I heard someone knocking on the door. I groaned and got up. Shade just rolled over and took over the spot I was on. I just shook my head at him and went to the door. Thinking it was Hugo and Ginnette, I opened the door while just in my boxers.

"That is not how I taught you to answer the front door," my mother said from the hallway. My brother was standing next to her trying not to laugh.

"Mom!" I squeaked. "Bobby! What? How?"

"Where are your manners?" she asked. "Invite us in."

"Come in!" I said quickly.

I rushed back to the futon and shooed Shade off it. He grumpily complied and went over to Bobby. Bobby kneeled down and began petting him. I struggled to switch the futon back into its chair mode while favoring my broken arm. Finally I managed to do it and brushed off the futon before offering it to them.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked me as she sat down. Bobby sat down next to her with Shade's head in his lap. I grabbed a dining chair and moved it over to sit in front of them.

"Just a small accident," I lied. "I just have to wear the cast for a week. It's fine. What are you doing here in the trainer district?"

"I was fed up with all your excuses about why you couldn't visit us," she retorted. "I decided if you wouldn't visit that I would. There is no law that says a civilian can't come to the trainer district. I went to the center and asked about you. They gave me your address. You should have told me you had your own apartment. I would have helped you move in."

I just shook my head in disbelief. She was right about there not being a law preventing civilians from visiting the trainer district. I just never expected my mother to work up the courage to visit me here. I tried come up with something to say.

"Do you want something to drink?" I managed. "I have water or milk."

"I'll take some milk," Bobby finally spoke up.

"Water will be fine," my mother said.

I went to the kitchen area and got drinks for them. I quickly brought them their drinks.

"Thank you," I mother said.

"Yeah, thanks," Bobby said.

"So," I said awkwardly. "How are you? Everything okay at home?"

My mother frowned. Bobby just kept his eyes on Shade.

"What?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

My mother sighed. "I need to know what happened between you and your father," she said finally.

"What do you mean what happened between us?" I asked nervously. "Nothing happened."

"You're terrible at lying," she told me. "You got that from your father. I didn't buy any of your excuses about why you couldn't visit and I didn't buy any of his excuses about why he hasn't spoken to you since your visit. Jacob, I need to know what happened."

I reluctantly told her about my conversation with my father that day. She listened to me without making any comment but I could see her eyes grow cold as I spoke. Once I was done she sat quietly for a moment.

"I thought it was something like that," she said finally. "To think he would put you through that. Wait until I get home. He and I are going to have a long talk."

"Don't," I said. "I don't want any problems between you. Just let it go."

"I will not let it go," she said. "He is your father and should support you no matter what. I will not stand by and watch him put you through any hardships just because he is afraid of you."

"Afraid of me?" I asked.

She nodded. "That's the only reason I can think of why he is behaving like an ass," she said. "Don't worry about it. I'll handle your father. Tell me how your missions have been. Have you captured any new Pokemon?"

I told them about the Growlithe I captured today. I left out any information that would cause them to worry about me. Then I told them about the missions I completed recently. Once I was done talking I turned to Bobby.

"How have you been kid?" I asked him. "You haven't said much."

My mother frowned again. Bobby hesitated for a moment.

"I've been alright," he said.

It was my turn to frown. "What happened?" I demanded both of them. "What aren't you telling me?"

Bobby wouldn't look at me. My mother stared at me before sighing again.

"He's been having a hard time since your visit," she admitted.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"A few days after your visit he let it slip to some of his friends that you released your Pokemon in our house and let Bobby pet him," she said. "Word of that got around and now most of the parents of his friends wont let them spend any time with him."

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"It's not your fault," Bobby said quickly.

My mother nodded. "It's not," she agreed. "It the parents fault for behaving so rashly. It's not as if Bobby has any Pokemon himself. I tried talking some sense into them but they refused to listen."

"So you have no more friends?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I still have some friends," he said.

My mother nodded again. "Not all the parents are punishing Bobby because of their ignorance," she said. "He still has a few friends."

"That's something," I said faintly.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm sure it will all work itself out." She stood up. "I'm getting hungry. Why don't we find your two friends that you've been telling me about and head over to the commercial district. I'll treat everyone to a nice meal."

I agreed and quickly got ready to leave. I recalled Shade and led them out of my apartment. Fortunately, Hugo and Ginnette were in their apartment. They quickly agreed to come with us. My mother took us to a nice restaurant and we all spent an enjoyable evening together. I looked around the table and couldn't help the happy feeling at being surrounded by the four most important people in my life.


	20. Chapter 20

Notes: Once again I apologize for the long wait. Hopefully after the holidays I'll be able to post more often.

Chapter 20

It's hard to imagine that I've been a Pokemon trainer for a year now. I've become so accustomed to training my Pokemon and taking missions that my time before feels like a dream to me. So much has changed over the months since I captured my Growlithe and was forced to vanquish Lilith.

Losing Lilith was a real eye opening experience for me. As a result of that incident I decided that never again would I attempt to train a Pokemon through fear. While that method can have quick results, I could never trust such a Pokemon not to attack me when I'm in a vulnerable position. I decided that any Pokemon I capture I would attempt to tame in the same manner that I did Shade. If that method doesn't work on a Pokemon for me then I would get rid of the Pokemon. This method proved successful with my Growlithe.

I named the female Growlithe Blaze. It only took me one training session to get her to listen to me. To be fair, Shade had a great deal to do with Blaze's taming process. As a canine the pack instinct is strong in Blaze. Shade beat Blaze in combat and Blaze acknowledged him as dominant as a result. Since Shade looked to me as his alpha, Blaze followed his example and recognized me as the alpha of our pack. Blaze was really tense around me at first but I quickly won her over much like I won Shade over.

The two of them go along extremely well. At home they could normally be found curled up together on the floor or on my futon. Even when we were not home they normally stayed close to each other and played together constantly. More than one higher ranked trainer noted their closeness and mentioned that it was a strong possibility that they would become mates and have puppies. Some of those trainers offered to buy or trade for a puppy when that eventually happened. I informed them that I would decide what to do with any puppies if Shade and Blaze mated.

Blaze was not the only new Pokemon I captured over the last year. A couple of weeks after the Lilith incident I went to the Pokemart and had Lilith's ball reset. The next day I went out and captured a Yanma. Unfortunately, the Yanma refused to listen to me even when I tried to befriend it. After trying to tame it for two weeks I finally gave up and put it down.

Over the next few months I tried several times with new Pokemon. I would go out into the Wilds and capture the first Pokemon I came across. I would then take back the captured Pokemon and attempt to tame it like I did with Shade. Unfortunately, that method wasn't as effective with any of those Pokemon. I tried with many different Pokemon including a Meowth, a Buizel and a Pansage.

It wasn't until I captured a male Pidgey that I had any luck. It took longer that it did with either Shade or Blaze but eventually I was able to tame him. I named him Azure and while he wasn't as affectionate as Shade or Blaze were, I had no problem having him outside his pokeball even when one of the others was not out. Since I could only have two active Pokemon with me, I would alternate between Blaze and Azure each day. I just did not have the heart to store Shade in the computer storage system.

Those were not the only changes in my life since that day. After my mother and brother went home following their visit, she and my father had a long conversation. While I don't know the details of what was said since then I was once again welcome to my parents home. Once a week I would visit my family for dinner. Other than the tenseness between my father and myself I normally spent an enjoyable evening. Occasionally, my mother and brother would visit me. The became pretty well known in the trainer district as the civilians that braved the feared district.

Hugo and Ginnette enjoyed the visits from my family. Every time they would visit me my mother would invite them along to eat with us. They all enjoyed spending time together. Ginnette and my mother hit it off right away. I think my mother was disappointed that she was with Hugo instead of me. Hugo got along well with Bobby. He mentioned more than once that he always wanted a little brother and found one in Bobby.

Hugo and Ginnette also went through some changes. Hugo captured another Pokemon after he saved up enough to buy another pokeball. He went to the mountains again to try to find a Aron. Unfortunately, he was not able to find one. After wandering the mountains for hours he came across a nest with two Rufflet. The Rufflet were still very young and were not able to fly yet. Since the parents were nowhere in sight he decided to capture one instead of continuing to try to find a Aron. He quickly tossed one of his pokeball and managed to capture one. Then he had Boron distract the other Rufflet while he retrieved the ball.

The Rufflet was a male that he decided to name Regal. Since Regal was still very young he quickly imprinted on Hugo as his caretaker. Although Hugo wasn't able to train Regal until he was older he was able to tame him and get him to listen to commands. Once he was old enough he worked on Regal's attack commands and started using him on missions.

Hugo's relationship with his family did not go through any major changes. He continued to send money to his mother to help support her and his sisters. His mother was very grateful and used the money to buy his sisters things that she could not afford before. Hugo would visit them once in a while and even introduced Ginnette and I to his family. Sometimes we would go with him when he visited them.

Ginnette captured two more Pokemon, a female Caterpie and a male Lillipup. She had little trouble taming them both. The Caterpie she named Verde and the Lillipup she named Scruffy.

Ginnette was the only one of us that so far had a Pokemon evolve. Within three months Verde evolved into her Metapod stage and then her Butterfree stage. In addition, Ginnette was the only one to have her starter evolve. Tumbleweed finally evolved into a Jumpluff after several months of training and missions.

Both Hugo and I were eager to have our Pokemon evolve and grow stronger. We were both expecting Shade and Cora to evolve any day now considering how much stronger they have both grown. Boron and Azure should also be close to evolving soon. Unfortunately for Blaze, she could not evolve until I managed to acquire a Fire Stone and use it on her. Since evolution stones were so expensive to buy my only options were to try to find one in the caves to the north or save up a lot of money to get one from one of the mining companies.

After months of training and missions we were finally close to meeting the requirements for the C-rank exam. All three of us already met the Pokemon requirement as well as the mission requirement. The only one we still needed to meet was the one year of experience requirement. That requirement would be met soon as the day finally came again for the new batch of prospective trainers to be chosen.

Once again it was Selection Day.

I woke up that day and quickly got ready. Once I was done I went over to Ginnette and Hugo's apartment for breakfast. This had become a ritual for the three of us. By the time I got to their apartment Ginnette was done placing the food on the table. We sat down and began eating. As we ate we talked about little unimportant things. Eventually Hugo brought up the subject that we were all thinking about.

"I can't believe its been a year since we were chosen already," he said.

"Yeah," I said.

"Are you nervous about today?" he asked me.

"Why would I be nervous?" I responded.

"Because Bobby has to attend Selection Day today," he said.

"I'm trying really hard not to think about that," I said. "Besides, what are the odds that Bobby will be chosen twice in a row?"

Hugo looked like he was about to say something before Ginnette silenced him with a look. She turned to me.

"What are you doing today?" she asked me.

"Mission," I responded. "I was requested specifically to work the morning shift in Section C of the agricultural district. I think we all know why I was requested for this mission."

"Mareep herding," Hugo said with a laugh.

"Yep," I agreed. "I don't mind really. It's an easy mission. I don't normally encounter any wild Pokemon in that section."

We continued talking about the day we had planned. I could tell that Ginnette was trying to get my mind off Selection day. Once we were done eating we cleaned up and I left for my mission. I took a magnet train to the agricultural district and made my way to Section C, the livestock section. I went to the guard station and saw more than the normal number of trainers waiting for the shift to start. I greeted the trainer in charge of my shift.

"Jacob," he greeted me. "Glad to have you here. I hope you brought your two canines today."

"I'm working the Mareep field again?" I asked.

He nodded. "The farmers decided to shear the Mareep today so its all hands on deck," he said.

"That explains the extra trainers," I said.

He nodded again. "We're going to herd the flock into smaller groups and then lead them to the shearing huts. The farmers want to try to have this done before our shift is up."

"That's a lot of Mareep to shear in five hours," I noted.

"We should be able to get it done," he said. "We'll begin immediately after shift change. I know this will be your first shearing day so just follow our lead. Understand?"

I nodded. "Got it," I said.

Shift change occurred in a few minutes. Most of the trainers waiting at the guard station quickly made their way to the Mareep field. When I reached the fence holding the Mareep I released Shade and Blaze. They appeared and instantly noticed the Mareep. They both wagged their tails in excitement.

"Yeah," I told them. "We're herding Mareep. Today will be a bit different from normal so pay attention to what the other trainer's Pokemon are doing."

They both barked in agreement and we began. The next five hours were grueling. Pokemon of all shapes and sizes were running around the field trying to keep the Mareep in small groups. One by one we separate single Mareep and herded them into one of the shearing huts were the farmers were waiting to remove the wool. It was slightly stressful work for me but Shade and Blaze loved it. If nothing else, this was good practice for whenever I take them out hunting.

We managed to finish the job a hour before shift change. The farmers signaled to us and we allowed the sheared Mareep to join into a big herd again. They then began collecting all the wool and loading it onto the waiting trucks.

"We made good time today," one trainer said to me. "Last time we had to work into the next shift because we couldn't finish on time."

"They look so weird without their wool," I said as I stared at the Mareep.

The trainer laughed. "Yeah, they do," she said.

We were able to relax for the remainder of our shift. The Mareep did not give us any further problems and there were no wild Pokemon encounters. When the next shift of trainers arrived and our shift was over I decided to head over to the trainer district first instead of going to the mission office. I wanted to ask Hugo and Ginnette if they wanted to go with me to the commercial district to go eat and maybe go to the movie theater. I was also curious about the results of Selection Day.

When I made it back to the trainer district I knew something was wrong. I saw a small crowd of trainers in front of the Center talking. As I walked to the Center two of the trainers left the crowd and ran up to me. It was Hugo and Ginnette and both looked worried. The other trainers in front of the Center saw me as well and began having hushed conversations.

"Jacob!" Ginnette exclaimed. "We weren't expecting you back so soon. You went to the mission office already?"

"No," I said. "I wanted to go to the commercial district to relax from my mission. I was coming to see if you wanted to go with me. I figured I could go to the mission office tomorrow. What's going on? Why is everyone waiting outside?"

Ginnette and Hugo looked at each other hesitantly. I noted the other trainers throwing glances at me. Finally, Hugo looked at me and broke the news.

"It's Bobby," he said.

I froze for a moment. I felt a chill move up my spine.

"What about Bobby," I asked dreadfully. "Don't tell me...he can't have been chosen again! The odds of being chosen twice in a row is astronomically slim!"

"He wasn't chosen," Ginnette said gently. "He volunteered."

I froze again in disbelief. I was sure that I misunderstood what Ginnette said.

"What?" I asked.

"When Muliere asked if there were any volunteers Bobby spoke up," she said. "He's in the Center with Annabelle and the other prospective trainers."

I ran the rest of the way to the Center. The other trainers moved to the side as I made my way to the doors. I slammed through he doors and quickly found Bobby in the computer room. Annabelle was also there as well as seven other prospective trainers. Bobby stood up as soon as he saw me.

"Bobby!" I exclaimed.

I ran up to him and gave him a hug. Then I moved back a step and shook him.

"What were you thinking!?" I yelled. "Why would you volunteer!?"

"I wanted to be a trainer like you," he said. "What's the problem? You volunteered."

"I volunteered to keep you from being a trainer!" I snapped. "Why would you-"

"Jacob," Annabelle interrupted. "I'm in the middle of showing the new prospects around the Center. Can this wait until I'm done with them."

I looked around the computer room. Annabelle was staring at me with eyes full of sympathy. The other prospective trainers all had fearful looks on their faces. I took a deep breath and stepped away from Bobby.

"I'm sorry Annabelle," I apologized. "I wasn't thinking. I just found out about Bobby volunteering."

"It's alright," she said. "Let me finish up and get them settled then you can talk to your brother."

I nodded and began to make my way out. Before I left the computer room a thought occurred to me and I turned to Annabelle.

"Does Bobby have to stay in the Center until his Ordeal?" I asked her. "Can he move in with me right away?"

"There's no rule that says he can't," she told me. "Once I'm done I'll give him his basic necessities and sent him your way."

"Thank you," I told her before turning to Bobby. "You have any problem with sharing my apartment?" I asked him.

"No," he said.

I nodded. "I'll see you when you're done here," I said.

I left the computer room. Hugo and Ginnette were the only trainers waiting in front of the Center.

"Are you alright?" Ginnette asked me.

"No," I said. "I'm in shock. I can't believe he did this."

"Really?" Hugo said. "You really can't believe this? Because we both saw this coming a long time ago."

"What?" I asked. "What do you mean you saw this coming?"

"Come one Jacob," he said. "Bobby's interest in our Pokemon and our missions. The fact that he's being shunned by most of his old friends. You're telling me that you had no idea that he would do this?"

I hesitated. "I guess I just ignored the signs," I said finally. "I didn't want to think about what could happen to him if he became a trainer."

"We'll you're going to have to think about it now," he said.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "I'm making Bobby move in with me. I'm going to help him as much as I can to get him ready for his Ordeal. Hopefully he'll pass without a problem."

"Your studio is kind of small for two people and your Pokemon," Ginnette noted.

I nodded. "In a little over a week I'll be able to take my C-rank exam," I said. "If I pass I'll start taking C-rank missions right away. I'll look into a bigger apartment as soon as I can. With Bobby's help, once he starts accepting missions, we should be able to afford something big enough for the two of us."

"If he makes it through his Ordeal," Hugo noted.

"Hugo!" Ginnette yelled. "What is wrong with you!"

"I'm just saying he shouldn't commit to anything until he knows for sure," Hugo said. "Anything can happen on Bobby's Ordeal."

"I have to go," I said suddenly. "I'm need to speak with my mother. I'll see you both later."

I quickly walked away from them. I could hear Ginnette berating Hugo as I walked to our residential building. I went to my apartment and used my video phone to call my parents house. My mother answered after a few seconds. She had a tired look on her face.

"Hi mom," I said hesitantly.

"Jacob," she said. "I figured you would call me soon."

"Did you know?" I asked her. "Did you know Bobby was going to volunteer?"

"Yes," she said. "I suspected for a while now that he would. Last week I spoke to him in private and asked him outright."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"Because you would have tried to stop him," she said. "As much as I don't want to lose either one of you the choice is ultimately his."

"But-" I began.

"Jacob," she interrupted. "What's done is done. The only thing you can do now is help him prepare for his Ordeal. Make sure he knows everything there is to know to give him the best chance of surviving."

I slumped. "You're right," I said. "I'll help him as much as I can. I told him that he's moving in with me. It will be a bit tight here but its better than sharing the barracks with the other prospective trainers. I'll start looking into getting a bigger place."

"I appreciate that," she said.

I hesitated for a second. "How is dad handling this?" I asked her.

There was a long moment of silence. "He left," she said finally.

"He left?" I asked in disbelief.

"He said he couldn't handle having both of his son's being trainers," she said. "He blamed me for Bobby volunteering today. He said If I hadn't been so supportive of you then Bobby would have had no desire to be a trainer. He packed up his things and went to a hotel. Before he left he said that he would be filing for a divorce."

I couldn't believe what I heard. "Mom," I stuttered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," she said. "It's not your fault you father is an ass. I'll be fine. Just worry about Bobby right now."

"Okay," I said.

"I have to go," she said. "Keep me updated on Bobby progress."

"I will," I promised. "Bye mom."

"Goodbye Jacob," she said and hung up.

I hung up the video phone and sat down on my futon. After a moment I released Shade and Blaze from their pokeballs. They could feel something was troubling me and laid down on either side of me with their heads in my lap. I began petting them absently.

"Well," I said. "We'll be going through some changes around here. Bobby is going to be living with us along with whatever Pokemon he captures. We'll be looking for a bigger home for all of us soon."

They both began wagging their tails. I just sat there thinking about the coming weeks. Once Bobby got to my apartment we would have to come up with some plans and begin preparing him for his Ordeal.


	21. Chapter 21

Notes: I've been asked if all Jacob's Pokemon will be pack animals. I had already been thinking about it and decided that all his Pokemon will be animals that normally live in social groups. I picked Pidgey as his third Pokemon due to Pidgey normally being in flocks. Expect his future Pokemon to be ones that normally live as parts of a pack, flock, herd, etc.

Chapter 21

"You're not listening to me," I gripped.

"Then stop repeating yourself!" Bobby snapped. "I already know all about the medicine they'll give us on our Ordeals and how to use them!"

"I'm just trying to make sure you're prepared for everything!" I snapped back.

"You and everyone else here!" he snapped. "Maxwell has been helping me and the other prospects and I know how to use the Pokedex app on the computer! Stop obsessing over me!"

"I'm not obsessing!" I yelled.

Bobby looked like he was about to start yelling as well before he stopped himself. He took a deep breath then went and quickly got ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked. "We're not done here."

"Yes we are," he responded. "I can't talk to you when you get like this. I appreciate everything you're doing for me but you're driving me up the wall. I'm going to the computer room to study some more. I'll see you later."

He left the apartment before I could respond. I stared at the door for a moment before sitting down on my futon. Shade, who had been cowering in the corner, sat down in front of me. I reached down to pet him as I tried to calm down.

It's been four days since the last Selection Day. Four days since Bobby volunteered to become a prospective trainer. On that day, Bobby and I sat down in my apartment and talked for a long time. We talked about his reasons for volunteering and what his plans were. While I did not approve of his actions there was nothing I could do so I promised him that I would help him in any way I can. I also told him that he could live with me as long as he wanted, even after he passed his Ordeal. Once he passed and I passed my C-rank exam I would look into getting a bigger apartment for us.

Bobby thanked me for everything and moved in that night. The studio apartment was small for Bobby, Shade, Myself and Blaze when It was her turn to be out instead of being in the computer storage. I allowed Bobby to sleep on my futon while I slept on the floor with my Pokemon.

The next day, after Bobby went through orientation with Maxwell and the other prospective trainers, I began helping him prepare for his Ordeal. We spent hours that day and the days that followed in the computer room and then in my apartment planning and going over information about the Pokemon that could be found around our city state. Even Hugo and Ginnette and some of the other trainers would help out in between their missions.

I did not accept any new missions the first two days after Selection Day. I was consumed with worry and ignored everything else except helping Bobby. It wasn't until Hugo pulled me aside on the second day while Ginnette was helping Bobby that I decided to continue taking missions. He pointed out that I still needed to support myself and now Bobby and couldn't afford not to take any missions for the whole week leading up to his Ordeal. I reluctantly agreed and accepted a simple guard station mission for the next day.

I gave my mother daily updates on Bobby's training week. She was very encouraging but also very distracted due to my father filing for divorce. I kept our conversations relatively short to avoid causing her any more stress.

At first Bobby was very grateful of my help and very attentive. However, as the days passed by I noticed him growing more and more frustrated with me. Today things came to a head when he snapped at me as I was giving him some more advice.

I sighed. "Come on," I told Shade. "Let's go for a walk."

He barked and waited as I recalled him into his pokeball. I quickly changed and left my apartment. When I reached the training grounds I threw out my two pokeballs. Shade materialized in front of me and Azure, my Pidgey, appeared hovering in front of me before he landed on my shoulder.

"We're taking a break guys," I said. "Go crazy. Just don't stray too far."

Shade barked happily and took off running to explore. Azure hopped off my shoulder and flew up high and began circling us. For the next couple of hours we wandered around the training grounds. Shade and Azure were both enjoying their time out here but I could not stop thinking about my brother. The more I thought about his Ordeal the more afraid I became for his safety. At one point I had to stop and sit on a rock until my arms stopped shaking.

When I saw the sky starting to grow dark I decided to head to the Center for some food as I didn't feel like cooking. I was making my way slowly to the Center when I heard a loud squawk and looked up. Azure had been joined by another bird Pokemon. I recognized Regal, Hugo's Rufflet. They both circled Shade and I for a few seconds before Regal suddenly dive bombed me. I ducked down just before he flew into me.

"Hey!" I yelled as he flew back up. "What is wrong with you?!"

Regal dropped to dive bomb me again. I dodged again before he could hit me. As he flew back up I turned to Shade.

"Are you just going to let him do that?" I demanded.

He barked before he began trotting in the direction of the Center. Regal dived me a couple more times before I realized that he was trying to get me to move faster towards the Center. I took off running to catch up with Shade and then moved fast to the Center once I reached him. Regal and Azure flew in lazy circles above me as we made our way.

"Thanks a lot," I muttered to Shade.

He just continued to trot next to me as we made our way. As me made our way to the edge of the training grounds I spotted Hugo standing just outside the boundary. Once we were close enough he raised a pokeball and recalled Regal. I recalled Shade and Azure and walked up to him.

"Did you have to tell him to do that?" I asked angrily.

"I didn't want to wait too long for you," he said. "Besides, after what Bobby told me and Ginnette you kind of deserved it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.

"I'm not going to argue with you on an empty stomach," he said. "Let's get some food and then we can talk."

I followed him into the Center and then to the cafeteria. We both grabbed a tray of food and then sat down at an empty table. We ate for a bit before I repeated my question. Hugo sighed and put his fork down.

"Jacob," he said. "Since you found out about Bobby volunteering you've become a bit overbearing. Mostly to Bobby but also to Ginnette and me at times. You're so worried about Bobby that you're stressing yourself and the people around you."

"How can I not be worried?" I demanded. "You remember how your Ordeal was. We were lucky that most of our year group survived but most years less that half of the prospects pass their Ordeals. Do you remember Phillip? I don't want Bobby to end like that. I can't lose him."

"I know," he said calmly. "I get it. I really do. In two years the oldest of my sisters will be old enough to attend Selection Day. I know neither one of them want to become trainers but they could still be chosen by chance. If either one of them are chosen I'll be as terrified as you are now about what could happen to them on their Ordeal."

"Then what's the problem?" I asked.

"You're making this about you when it's not," he said. "Bobby knew what he was doing when he volunteered. He knew the risks he would be taking, especially on his Ordeal. He chose to volunteer anyway and is doing the best to prepare himself."

"I just want him to be ready," I said.

"I know," he said. "But you're causing him stress that he doesn't need right now. He may be hiding it better than you but he's just as worried about his Ordeal. That is the one thing that none of us can help him with. He has to go out into the Wilds and prove himself on his own."

"But-" I began.

"It's not about you," he insisted. "When Ginnette and I came back to the trainer district we found Bobby in the computer room angrily going through information on the Pokedex app. After he explained what happened Ginnette took him to our apartment to cook for him. I went to your apartment to talk to you but found it empty. I figured you went to the training grounds so I sent Regal to find you."

"So, what is it exactly that you want from me?" I asked.

"You need to ease up on Bobby," he said. "It's a good thing that you're supporting him but ultimately his Ordeal falls on him. If he goes out into the Wilds overstressed and second guessing himself it could cost him his life."

I sat back after that. I thought about everything that Hugo said to me about my behavior over the last few days. It wasn't just Bobby, Ginnette and Hugo that I was causing stress to. I've also been asking higher ranking trainers to help Bobby prepare.

"You're right," I said finally. "I let my emotions affect my behavior these past few days. I cant believe none of you told me off before now."

"We all know you're going through a tough time with Bobby and your mother's divorce," he said. "We were trying to be supportive of both of you without crowding you. No one holds it against you. I wouldn't have even talked to you about it today if you and Bobby hadn't had that little spat earlier. We were all hoping that after Bobby's Ordeal you would go back to normal."

"I'm sorry," I said.

He shrugged. "No one holds it against you," he said. "Most of us are happy to help Bobby prepare and give him advice if he asks for it. I think he's as prepared as he's ever going to be for his Ordeal at this point. I think he has a decent chance of passing. It's the other prospective trainers that I worry about."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "What's wrong with the other prospects?"

"It's pretty obvious to them that we all favor Bobby just because he's your brother," he explained. "None of them volunteered for this and most of them are terrified. They must see how much help he's getting from us and think that we don't care about whether they live or die on their Ordeals."

I was horrified. I could never have imagined that Bobby being my brother and getting help from me and some of the other trainers would affect them.

"Don't worry," he said. "Muliere spoke to some middle ranked trainers discreetly and asked each to mentor one of the other prospects and Maxwell has pretty much made himself available to them 24/7."

I groaned and put my head in my hands.

"I have a lot of apologizing to do," I said.

"Like I said," he continued. "No one holds it against you. You don't have to apologize to anyone. Well, maybe Bobby but no one else."

"Still," I said. "I'll make it up to everyone somehow. Starting tomorrow I'll make myself available to the other prospects and offer them my help too."

He nodded. "Good," he said. "You're starting to think clearly again. Just don't push yourself on them. Be the mentor you were when Ginnette and I needed help a year ago, nothing more. You were a big help to us without being overwhelming."

We finished our meals in silence after that. Once we were done we took our trays to the kitchen and left the Center. We headed to our residential building and went straight to Hugo's apartment. When we entered we saw Ginnette and Bobby sitting at the dinning room table with the remains of their meals in front of them. They both looked up when we entered. Bobby glared at me when he saw me then stared at the table. Ginnette shot me a sympathetic look.

"Are you done?" I asked Bobby softly.

"Yeah," he responded.

I nodded. "Why don't we leave these two alone now?" I suggested. "They both had missions today and probably want to rest."

He nodded and stood up. He thanked Ginnette for the meal and then moved passed me and Hugo to leave. I thanked both of them and followed him out of their apartment. We walked back to my apartment in silence. When we got there Bobby threw himself on the futon and I sat down next to him. We didn't speak for a long time.

"I'm sorry," I said finally.

He huffed. "Are you done being an ass?" he asked me.

"I am," I said. "I'll help you if you want but I wont bother you otherwise."

"I don't mind if you help me Jacob," he said. "Just try to be less intense. I know I have to be prepared for anything out in the Wilds. Your hovering over my shoulders and shoving information and advice at me isn't helping."

"I know," I said. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"I get it," he said. "I'll be ready for my Ordeal but all the preparation in the world wont account for everything. There is a good chance I will die out there."

"Don't say that!" I said. "You're going to survive!"

"I might not," he said. "And if I don't survive, I don't want you to blame yourself for my death. This was my choice not yours. The consequences are on me not you."

I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Promise me Jacob," he insisted. "If something does happen to me you wont blame yourself. Mourn me if you must but then move on with your life. Promise me."

We both sat in silence for a while. He was waiting for me to respond to his request.

"I promise," I said finally.

The day was finally here. It was finally time for Bobby and the rest of his year group to go out into the Wilds and attempt to capture their starter Pokemon. Eight civilians would go out into the Wilds today. Any of them that made it back with a Pokemon would be official Pokemon trainers.

The day after Hugo and Bobby set me straight I went around apologizing to anyone that I may have cause stress to on my quest to help Bobby. They all accepted my apologies and then told me to forget it ever happened. I was really grateful for their understanding. I helped Bobby whenever he asked but did not crowd him like I was before. He was very grateful for the help and also for easing up on him.

I also spoke with each of the other prospective trainers and gave them some encouraging words. I made it clear to them that I would be available to help any of them if they asked. For the most part they relied on Maxwell and their individual mentors but some of them came to me for advice when their mentors were out on missions. I answered any questions they had but was careful not to stress them anymore than they were.

Muliere approached me one day and told me that he was happy that I was back to normal. He also mentioned that he was considering assigning individual mentors from now on for prospective trainers in the future besides having Maxwell or one of the other middle ranked trainers mentor the group. At least something good came out of my little mess.

The rest of the week passed quickly. Today was the day for the Ordeals. The prospective trainers were all standing in front of the train station facing Muliere and the group of trainers standing behind him. I was standing in the back of the group with Ginnette and Hugo. The prospects already collected their backpacks and were standing as Muliere explained how the Ordeal would go.

"Since we have eight prospective trainers this year there will be two of you exiting the city state from each of the gates," he said. "One prospect will be sent out at a time and the next will be sent out after waiting 30 minutes. You will all now decide what gates you will exit from in the order that you were chosen."

He turned to Bobby. "Since you were the only volunteer that means that you get to choose first," he said. "What gate will you choose?"

Bobby thought about it for a moment. "The western gate," he said finally.

I froze. More than one trainer gasped as he made this announcement. I felt Ginnette grab my hand and Hugo place one of his hands on my shoulders. Muliere stood quietly in shock for a moment before moving on to the next prospect. One by one the prospective trainers chose which gate they would exit from.

Once they all made their choice Muliere had them pick their unassigned pokeballs. He finished with the same speech he gave us last year then sent the prospective trainers on their way. Before he boarded the magnet train Bobby turned to look at me. I mustered up a smile and gave him an encouraging nod. He nodded back to me then boarded. The prospects all boarded the magnet train with their escorts then departed the station.

Once the magnet train could no longer be seen the trainers began to disperse. Muliere and some of the others gave me some encouragement before they left. Muliere said that he would send someone to tell me when Bobby made it back from his Ordeal. I stood there in front of the station for a while before Hugo and Ginnette tugged me away from it.

"Come on," Ginnette said gently. "There's no sense waiting here. We have no idea how long he's going to take. Let's go to our apartment and wait. I'll make something to eat."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to keep anything down," I told her. "Why? Why would he choose the forest? Even the mountains are safer."

"It was his choice to make," Hugo said. "You'll just have to trust that he knows what he's doing. Ginnette's right. You need to eat something. Let's go."

They both let me back to their apartment. When we entered they sat me down on their couch. Hugo sat down next to me while Ginnette went into the kitchen to prepare some food. Hugo tried to engaged me in conversation to get my mind off Bobby.

"So," he said. "Next week we'll all be eligible to take the C-rank exam. Are you going to take it right away or wait a bit?"

I looked at him for a moment before answering.

"I'll take it right away," I said. "No sense putting it off. After Bobby...after today I'll start preparing for the exam."

"Do either of you have any idea what the exam will be like?" Ginnette asked us from kitchen.

"No," I said. "I haven't really given it much thought."

"I asked some of the other trainers," Hugo said. "They said that the C-rank exam was in three parts like the D-rank exam. The also mentioned that we should be able to pass the first two parts without any problems."

"What about the third part?" I asked.

"They wouldn't say," he said.

"I wonder why?" Ginnette said. "There's no rule that says that you can't talk about your exam with other trainers, even trainers that are going to take that exam."

"From what they told me its an unwritten rule," he said. "None of the middle or higher ranks care enough about the D-rank exam to keep it secret. That's why Muliere didn't tell Jacob to keep it a secret from us when he passed it last year. However, only serious trainers try to go above D-rank remember? The exams after that rank are considered rights of passage. While there is no rule about it, the higher ranks want us to try to pass them without any help or forewarning."

"Huh," I said. "That's interesting. Are you both going to take your exams as soon as possible too?"

"We're both going to wait until you pass it before we take it," Hugo said.

"Why?" I asked.

"It just feels right," Ginnette said. "You've done everything else before us. Why not this?"

"You just want to see if I fail it the first time?" I accused.

They both laughed.

"Yeah," Hugo said. "That's part of it."

Ginnette finished cooking and asked us to set the table. She brought out the food and we sat down to eat. As we were eating they both talked about different things. It was obvious that they were trying to distract me and themselves form Bobby's Ordeal. They were both worried for his safety as well.

For the next couple of hours we sat in their living room talking. As time went on the I became more worried for Bobby. I kept checking the time and going to the window to look outside. Hugo and Ginnette did their best to distract me but they were also worried for Bobby. After hours of waiting we finally received the news we were waiting for.

We heard someone knocking loudly on the door. All three of us stood up and Hugo quickly walked over to open it. Jack was standing out in the hallway breathing hard.

"Jacob," he said breathlessly. "You need to come with me."

I felt a chill move up my spine.

"Where?" I asked.

"District Six Hospital," he said. "Fred is going to get your mother to meet us there."

"Bobby?" I asked faintly.

"He's alive," Jack said. "But he's injured and suffering from the after effects of poison. Muliere wanted us to get you and your mom there to assure you that he would be alright."

I would have dropped to my knees in relief if Hugo hadn't grabbed me. He let go once I was steady.

"Let's go," I said.

"We're coming too," Ginnette said.

The four of us quickly made our way to the station. We boarded a magnet train and made our way to district six. We sat in silence for a while until Hugo broke the silence.

"Did he pass?" He asked Jack.

Ginnette and I turned to look at Jack. We had both forgotten to ask out of relief of Bobby being alive.

"He passed," Jack said.

I let out a breath a relief. Hugo and Ginnette both smiled.

"What Pokemon did he capture?" Ginnette asked him.

"You're not going to believe this," Jack said.

"What?" I asked, alarmed. "What did he capture? What's the problem?"

"There's no problem exactly," he said. "It's just..."

"Spit it out!" Hugo snapped.

"He captured a Weedle," Jack said.

We stared at him in disbelief.

"A Weedle?" I asked faintly.

He nodded. "That's why he's in the hospital," he said. "He came across the Weedle and tried to capture it before the Weedle spotted him and alerted the hive. Apparently he caught it with no problems but the Beedrill were alerted anyway and he had to run away from them. He was able to escape but he received some injuries and was poisoned. He was able to patch himself up a bit and drank some Potion and Antidote then made his way back. He was rushed to the hospital after he told the gate guards what happened."

The three of us just sat there in shock after that. When we made it to the station closest to the hospital we disembarked and ran the rest to the way. The hospital staff became alarmed at seeing four trainers barge in but Jack was able to calm them down and have them direct us to Bobby's room. We followed their directions and found Muliere and Fred standing outside the room talking. They turned to us when they spotted us.

"Thanks for bringing them," Muliere told Jack.

"No problem boss," he responded.

Muliere nodded to him then turned to me.

"Your brother sure likes doing things the hard way," he commented. "First picking the forest then trying to capture a Weedle? He's either very brave or stupid."

"Both most likely," Hugo said laughing. "He did volunteer for this after all."

"Look who's talking," Ginnette retorted.

He laughed again. "True," he said.

"He's going to be alright?" I asked.

Muliere nodded. "The doctors said he would make a full recovery," he said. "The Beedrill got him good but between his rough patchwork and the doctors he wont suffer anything more than some scaring."

"Lucky bastard," Hugo said. "Chicks dig scars."

"Hugo!" Ginnette snapped.

I was beginning to calm down thanks to Hugo's antics. He knew exactly what to say to break the tension. I smiled and looked at Fred.

"My mother?" I asked him.

"In the room with your brother," he said. "It didn't take me long to bring her here."

"Thank you," I said to Muliere, Jack and Fred. "You don't know what this means to me."

"The kid is practically family with as much time that he's spent in the trainer district while he was still a civilian," Jack said. "We're happy to help."

Muliere nodded. "I expect great things from your brother," he said. "He has what it takes to become a skilled trainer. It must run in your family."

"Thanks," I said again before frowning. "Sir," I said. "What about the other prospective trainers?"

Muliere now had a sad look on his face. "Other then your brother only three other prospective trainers have made it back with Pokemon," he said. "We're still waiting on the other four."

"The sun will begin to go down soon," Fred commented.

Muliere nodded. The rest of us didn't say anything. We were all thinking the same thing. If the four remaining prospects didn't make it back before sunset then we would most likely not be seeing them again. I shivered then turned to look at the door to Bobby's hospital room.

"We'll leave you alone now," Muliere said. "I already congratulated Bobby for passing. I expect to see the both of you in my gym next week to take your exams."

We thanked them again before they left the hospital. Hugo, Ginnette and I waited until we were alone before speaking.

"Go ahead," Ginnette said. "We'll wait for you here for now to give your family some time together."

"Just make sure we can see the kid before we leave," Hugo said. "I want to congratulate him for passing."

I nodded to them before opening the door and stepping into the room. I immediately spotted my mother sitting next to a bed. Bobby was lying in the bed. I could see that he had no shirt on and his body was covered in bandages. My mother stood up as I walked over to the bed.

"Jacob," my mother greeted.

"Mom," I responded before I turned to Bobby. I shook my head at him. "A Weedle? Really?"

"What?" he asked. "What's wrong with that? I spotted it and couldn't pass up the opportunity. How many rookie trainers can say that they captured a Weedle?"

"Very few," I admitted.

"Now that he passed that means you can help him out on missions right?" my mother asked. "He doesn't have to do them alone."

"He needs to be promoted first," I said. "Let's worry about his D-rank exam before we worry about missions. Besides, D-rank missions are low risk. He should be able to handle them by himself."

"But-" my mother began.

"Mom," Bobby interrupted. "I'll be fine."

I nodded. "Yes he will," I said. "The hard part is over. He'll never have to go out into the Wilds by himself again unless he chooses too. Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Don't need you to keep an eye on me," he muttered.

I smiled. "I'm sure Ginnette and Hugo will be happy to help keep him out of trouble," I said. "Speaking of which, they're both waiting in the hallway for us to finish our little family moment before they come in here to congratulate Bobby."

"They can come in now," my mother said. "They're both practically family anyway. I'll go get them."

We watched as our mother went into the hallway to get them. Before she could return with them Bobby and I turned to each other.

"I did it," Bobby said with a smile. "I passed. I'm a trainer."

I returned the smile. "Yes, you are," I said. "Congratulations little brother."


	22. Chapter 22

Notes: Sorry for the long wait. I'm also sorry for those of you that were waiting for the next exam. I managed to just finish this chapter in the little bit of free time that I had today. I promise that the C-rank exam will be in the next chapter. I know exactly what the exam is going to be like and should be able to write it quickly. I should have time to write and post the next chapter within two days.

Chapter 22

"This is not as easy as I thought it would be," Bobby said.

Bobby was sitting on a rock in a grassland training ground as I patched up his newest small stab wound. Once I was done I took out a Antidote and offered it to him.

"Here," I said. "Just in case."

"Yeah," he said. "I know the drill."

He took the Antidote and removed the cap. After taking a sip he replaced the cap and handed the medicine back to me. I placed it back in my backpack.

"Ready to try again?" I asked.

"Give me a minute," he said.

"Alright," I said.

I signaled to Azure to fly down to me. Once he was hovering in front of me I told him to take a quick break. He flew over to one of the training dummies and landed on it. Then I turned back to Bobby.

It's been three days since Bobby passed his Ordeal and he hasn't had much luck taming his Weedle. Bobby spent the day following his Ordeal in the hospital. The doctors there wanted to make sure that he would suffer no permanent injuries or any side affects from the poison before releasing him. My mother and I spent the entire day keeping him company. Hugo and Ginnette also visited for several hours before leaving for missions.

On the second day when Bobby was released from the hospital he insisted on getting started on taming his Weedle right away. I insisted on being there just in case Bobby got in over his head. I gave Bobby advice but stood back and let him try to deal with his Pokemon on his own.

The Weedle, a male that he wanted to name Sting, was very aggressive. Whenever he was released from his pokeball he would immediately launch himself at Bobby with a Poison Sting attack. The first time Sting did this Bobby was caught unprepared and barely managed to raise his arm to block the attack. The stinger pierced his arm before Bobby managed to throw Sting off. He immediately recalled Sting and we dealt with his injury and the poison. Since then I made sure to keep Azure out and ready to attack Sting in case Bobby needed help.

Bobby spent the entire second day trying to tame Sting with no luck. He tried being firm and authoritative. He tried enticing him with food. He also just tried talking to Sting. Every attempt just resulted in an attack. Bobby managed to dodge most of the attacks but Sting was very fast. Several times we had to stop to patch Bobby up. Its the morning of the third day after his Ordeal and we're once again in the training grounds while Bobby does his best to tame Sting.

"What am I doing wrong?" Bobby asked me after resting a bit.

"You're not doing anything wrong," I responded. "You just caught a very aggressive Pokemon. The Weedle line is hard to tame, especially for a rookie. Overall I think you haven't been doing bad."

"Not bad?" he asked incredulously.

"You've only been at it for two days," I reminded him. "It took Hugo much longer to tame his first Pokemon. Just keep at it. I'm sure you'll get it."

"Maybe I should just retake my Ordeal and try again with another Pokemon?" he asked himself out loud.

"No," I said firmly. "You're nowhere near that point yet. Don't give up on Sting just yet."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" he asked.

"The main problem you're having is getting him to listen to you," I said. "Every time you release him he attacks you before you can do anything. Before you try to tame him you have to stop him from attacking first."

"How do I do that?" he asked.

"You should try the method I tried with Shade," I suggested. "Do you have any Repel left over from your Ordeal?"

"A little bit," he said. "Why?"

"When he wasn't trying to run away, Shade also tried to attack me whenever I released him from his pokeball," I said. "Before I could prove to him that I was the alpha I first had to get him to stop attacking. I used the threat of the Repel to get him to pay attention to me."

"I thought you said that it was risky to try to threaten a Pokemon into obeying you?" he asked. "That's the problem you had with Lilith. She was under constant threat and turned on you when she had the chance."

"It was different with Lilith," I said. "With Shade, I only had to threaten him at first to prove my dominance over him. Once we established that I was in control he gradually came to accept me as alpha even though I am human. It helps that he was most likely an omega in his old pack. He was used to obeying those who outranked him in the pack. It was pretty much the same with Blaze and Azure. Once both accepted me as the leader of our pack they didn't give me much trouble."

"But not all Pokemon are pack animals," he protested. "What about the Pokemon that are not? How do other trainers tame them?"

I shrugged. "Every trainer has their preferred method to taming Pokemon," I said. "Some try to dominate the wills of their Pokemon. Some try befriending their Pokemon like Ginnette does. Some try keeping them satisfied with food and a safe place away from their natural predators. Some trainers use pain and fear as a way of controlling their Pokemon. And some trainers wait and see what the best method is for each individual Pokemon like Hugo does."

"What method do you think will work best for Sting?" he asked.

"First we get him to stop attacking you," I said. "Sting's proven that just recalling him into his pokeball is not enough. That's why we need the Repel. The next time you release him spray some Repel in his direction when he tries to attack you."

"You think that will get him to stop attacking me?" he asked.

"It should," I said. "No Pokemon that breathes air likes Repel but it's worse for Bug type Pokemon. Enough Repel can even kill them. Spray him once with it and he should hesitate the next time you release him."

"Then what?" he asked.

"Then you show him who's boss," I said. "Luckily for you Weedle, Kakuna and Beedrill live in social groups. Also, unlike Combee and Vespiquen, they are not mindless drones. Male Combee are not capable of thought or emotion at all, only the females are. That's why trainers don't bother catching male Combee, they would not be able to tame them since there is nothing to tame. Weedle and their evolutions are actual individuals. Beedrill hives are ruled by the strongest Beedrill, much like a pack."

"So you think I should try to dominate Sting like you did Shade?" he asked.

"I think its your best bet," I said.

He thought about that for a moment then stood up. After ruffling through his backpack for a moment he took out his can of Repel.

"Let's try this again," he said.

I signaled Azure to ready himself again. He hopped off the training dummy and flew back up. Once he was ready I stepped back and nodded to Bobby. Bobby took a deep breath then raised his pokeball. He looked at the Repel in his other hand for a second then released Sting.

Just like every other time he was released, Sting immediately launched himself at Bobby. This time instead of trying to dodge the Poison Sting attack Bobby quickly raised the can of Repel and sprayed some at Sting. As soon as Sting touched the Repel mist he dropped to the ground. He began rolling around on the ground while making some pained sounds.

"Recall him," I said.

Bobby raised his pokeball again and recalled Sting. Once he was sucked back into his pokeball Bobby turned back to me.

"Well?" he asked.

"Good," I said. "Give the pokeball a couple of minutes to deal with the Repel then release him again. He'll most likely try to attack you again so be ready to spray him."

We both waited for a couple of minutes before Bobby released Sting again. Once again he tried to attack Bobby but I noticed this time that he didn't attack immediately after being released. Bobby had plenty of time to raise the Repel and spray him again. After allowing Sting to roll around for a few seconds Bobby recalled him again. We waited for a couple of minutes again before Bobby released him.

This time Sting did not try to attack after he materialized. Instead, he curled up into a ball and began shivering. Bobby looked at me and I motioned him forward. He walked cautiously up to Sting. When Sting noticed Bobby moving closer with the Repel can he curled up tighter. Bobby stopped when he was a few steps away from him.

"Are you done trying to attack me?" he asked Sting. "I don't want to have to spray you again but I will if I have to."

Sting made no indication that he even heard Bobby. He just remained curled up defensively. After a moment Bobby moved closer and kneeled down next to him. I tensed up and motioned Azure to be ready.

"Look," he said. "I get that you didn't want this but you're just going to have to deal with it. I caught you and that means that either you listen to me or I have to put you down and start over with another Pokemon. I would rather not have to do that so let's both make the best of this situation."

Sting finally lifted his head and stared at Bobby. When he made no move to attack Bobby he sat down with his legs crossed. He reached into one of his pockets and took out a handful of the berries that he was trying to bribe Sting with before.

"You must be hungry," Bobby said. "Here. Eat as much as you want."

Bobby lowered his hand and offered Sting the berries. Sting stared at the berries then at Bobby. After a few seconds he crept forward and took a berry from Bobby's hand. He quickly moved back and ate the berry. After staring at Bobby for a moment he crept forward again. This time instead of just taking a berry he crawled onto Bobby's arm a proceeded to eat the berries.

Bobby turned to grin at me. I gave him a thumbs up but did not relax just yet. Just in case this was a trick I stood ready to order Azure to attack. However, it seemed that Bobby finally got through to Sting. After he was done eating his meal he gave Bobby his full attention. Bobby began speaking to him quietly. After watching them for a few minutes I relaxed and sat on the same rock that Bobby was on. I called Azure back down and he landed on my arm.

Bobby was speaking to Sting for almost 20 minutes. Finally, he stood up slowly and allowed Sting to crawl up to his shoulder. Once Sting was comfortable Bobby walked over to me. I stood up when he was a couple of feet away. Sting eyed me and Azure cautiously but did not make any moves to attack us.

"Well?" I asked.

"We've come to an agreement," Bobby said.

"He's going to cooperate?" I asked.

"Let's see," he said.

Bobby moved over to a training dummy and set Sting down in front of it. He then moved back. For the next hour or so they worked on basic commands as well as attack commands while Azure and I watched. Once in a while I would chime in with some advice but for the most part Bobby did well on his own. Bobby stopped the training session when he saw that Sting was getting tired. He picked him back up and set him back on his shoulder.

Bobby and I decided to walk around the training grounds for a while. I released Shade and let him run around us while Azure flew back up. Sting stayed on Bobby's shoulder while we walked.

"So when do you want to take your exam?" I asked him.

He thought about it for a second. "I think I want to spend the day tomorrow training Sting," he said. "The day after tomorrow I'll go over to the gym to ask for the exam."

"Good," I said. "Make sure that Sting is ready for it or you'll have to retake it the next day."

"What about you?" he asked me. "You met your one year requirement didn't you? You're eligible to take the C-rank exam now. When are you going to take it?"

"Tomorrow," I said. "I already made the appointment with Muliere. Apparently I cant just walk in like I did with the D-rank exam. Muliere needs to prepare for my exam."

"I wonder how he's going to test you," he said.

"I'll see tomorrow," I said.

"Do you think you're ready?" he asked.

"Apparently there is a betting pool on whether or not I'll pass it on my first try," I said dryly. "I hear that most of the trainers in the pool are betting that I'll pass it. I'll do my best tomorrow. If I have to retake it then I will. At least the second time I'll know what to expect."

"I hope you pass it tomorrow," he said.

"Me too," I said. "I want to take C-rank missions right away. We need a bigger apartment."

"Sorry," he said. "I can move to the Center barracks until I can afford my own place if you want."

"I wasn't complaining," I told him. "I would rather we live together, at least until you want your own place. But you have to admit it's a little crowded in there for the two of us and my Pokemon. Luckily Sting is so small, having him in the apartment wont make any real difference."

"I guess," he said. "We'll need more room for when I capture more Pokemon too."

"That reminds me," I said. "I didn't ask you before, did you have any pokeballs left over from your Ordeal?"

"Two," he said.

I looked at him in surprise.

"Two?" I asked. "How did you manage that?"

"I managed to retrieve the pokeballs on my other attempts to capture Pokemon," he said. "The Repel came in handy, most of the Pokemon I failed to capture ran off after I sprayed them."

"Still," I said. "You're very lucky to have all three of the pokeballs you started out with. Ginnette and I each came back with one extra. Hugo didn't come back with any extra at all."

"That just means I'll be able to capture more Pokemon soon," he said cheerfully. "I don't have to save up any money to buy more any time soon."

"You're going to need to capture at least one soon," I said.

He frowned. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Caterpillar Pokemon evolve quickly," I said. "I give it a month max before Sting evolves into his Kakuna stage. Once he does evolve it will be hard for you on missions if you come across wild Pokemon. Kakuna can still fight but they can only hop around slowly. It's better for you to just have another Pokemon you can use on missions until he evolves into a Beedrill."

"I didn't think about that," he said. "You're right. I'll probably go out into the Wilds next week to try to capture another one."

"Don't go out alone," I said. "There aren't many Pokemon in the Wilds that Weedle are able to beat on their own. That's why they stay within their hive's territory. Take me or Ginnette or Hugo with you when you go. Please."

"I will," he promised. "Don't worry."

"Thanks," I said. "I'm getting hungry. Let's go get some food."

"Okay," he said.

I called Shade and Azure back to us. We turned in the direction of the residential buildings and made our way back home.


	23. Chapter 23

Notes: I've changed two Flying type attacks for my story. Fly is not an actual attack in this story. Instead, it is an evasive move where a Flying Pokemon flies up high out of an opponent's reach. Sky Attack is basically a dive bomb attack that can be used after Fly. Other Flying type attacks such as Acrobatics and Air Slash can also be used after Fly.

Chapter 23

Bobby and I both woke up early the next morning. I was eager to take my exam and Bobby wanted to show his support. When both of us were ready we went to Ginnette and Hugo's apartment for breakfast.

"So today is the day," Hugo said.

"Yeah," I said.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"No," I said.

"Liar," he teased.

"Leave him alone Hugo," Ginnette said. "Ignore him," she told me. "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. It's the C-rank exam, it can't be that hard. I would worry more about the middle and higher rank exams."

"You're right," I said with a sigh. "There's nothing to worry about. I can always retake the exam."

"That's the spirit," Hugo said.

"Did you guys hear about the betting pool?" Bobby asked.

"Of course," Hugo said. "My money is on him failing the first time."

"Hugo!" Ginnette snapped.

"I'm kidding," he said with a laugh. "You know I support you. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks," I said.

We stayed in their apartment until it was almost time for my exam. They wished me luck and I left our residential building. I made my way quickly over to the Gym. Once I reached it I stood in front of the building to steady my nerves. Once I felt steady enough I opened the door and entered the gym.

It was still early in the morning but there was a handful of high rank trainers training their Pokemon in the Gym. I recognized most of them even if I didn't know them personally. I was also surprised to see a female trainer that I recognized as a B-rank trainer. Normally, unless they were here for a promotional exam, low and middle rank trainers did not go to the Gym. She seemed out of place here just standing in a corner watching the other trainers.

I didn't have long to ponder the B-rank trainer as I noticed the Gym Leader leaving his office with two other trainers. I vaguely remember the other trainers but did not know their names or ranks. However, I did notice the elite trainers in the Gym move out of their way as they made their way to me. Most of them also nodded respectfully to them.

"You're a little early Jacob," Muliere said when they reached me. "I guess you're pretty eager to get started."

"Yes sir," I said, trying to keep my nerves under control.

"Again with the formalities," he said with a sigh.

"Sorry sir," I said.

He sighed again then motioned to the two trainers next to him.

"This is Carl," he said indicating the trainer on his right. "And this is Sharron. They're the only S-rank trainers from our city state besides myself."

"Hello," Sharron said with a smile.

Carl only nodded to me.

"Hello," I said nervously.

"They're going to help me evaluate your exam," Muliere said. "Traditionally, three S-rank trainers test trainers who wish to be promoted to C-rank or higher. If three S-rank trainers are not available then the League allows A-rank trainers to fill in the spots. Luckily we have three and wont have to get one of the elites involved."

"Why are three examiners necessary?" I asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"It's to make sure the you are tested fairly," he said. "Since all three of us are masters, I don't outrank them. Even though I'm the Gym leader of Asidia, we are equals in the eyes of the League. They have the power to overrule my decision if they think that I'm being too hard on you or to soft on you during your exam."

"Oh," I said contemplating what he said.

"Since everyone taking part in your exam is here we can get started," he said. "Come with us."

I followed them through the Gym until we reached a double door on the other side close to his office. We passed through the doors which led to a stairwell. I followed them down through several flights of stairs.

"I had no idea there was anything under the gym," I thought. "I wonder what's down here."

We finally made it to the bottom and passed through another set of double doors. The doors led us to a dark room. I could not see anything other then the three masters with me. Muliere reached over to the wall on the right of the doors and flipped some switches. Several ceiling lights began to turn on and illuminated the room.

"Whoa," I said.

The room was huge, more than twice the size of the Gym upstairs. I could see that it was divided into two sections. Both sections looked like obstacle courses. There were walls, tubes, poles and other structures spread out in both sections. One section had several small red flags placed in different locations. I also noticed that there were many holes spread out on the walls and on the ceiling.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"It's were trainers come for special training," Sharron spoke up.

"It's also were we conduct the C-rank exam," Muliere said. "Which is what we're here for. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes sir," I said.

"Good," he said. "Then release both of the Pokemon you brought."

I pulled out my two pokeballs and activated the release. Shade and Azure both materialized in front of me. The both glanced around the room and looked at me. I motioned for them to wait.

"I would have thought that you would bring your Growlithe," Muliere commented.

"I thought that I should have a more diverse team for the exam sir," I said. "I have no idea what you'll have us do and want to be prepared for anything."

"Good call," he said. "But don't think that having a Flying type will give you and edge in this exam. He'll have to participate with some restrictions."

"What kind of restrictions?" I asked.

He nodded to Carl, who walked over to a panel on the wall. He pressed some buttons and some of the obstacles began to move. Some of them moved in simple patterns while others moved at random. From the holes in the walls and ceiling I saw what looked like tiny cannons pop out.

"The C-rank exam is in three part just like the D-rank exam," Muliere began.

He motioned to the obstacle course that had the flags.

"For the first part, one of your Pokemon will have to go through that obstacle course and retrieve all the flags. While your Pokemon is going through the course he'll be fired on by those," he said while pointing at the tiny cannons. "Don't worry, they only fire rubber balls. However, should your Pokemon be hit by the balls six times you will fail the exam. Understand?"

"Yes sir," I said.

"There are two obstacle courses," he continued. "You can't use the same Pokemon to complete both parts. Choose which Pokemon will take part in retrieving the flags."

I looked at Shade and Azure and debated on which one should try the first part. After a moment I made up my mind.

"Azure," I said, pointing to my Pidgey.

"I thought you would," he said. "Here comes the restrictions. Your Pidgey is not allowed to fly higher than the highest obstacle. He is also not allowed to leave the boundary of the course until he either retrieves the flags or is hit six times. Violating either one of these restriction will result in immediate disqualification."

"Understood," I said.

"You have five minutes to prepare your Pokemon," he said.

I picked up Azure and moved away from the masters. I explained to him what I wanted him to do. I made sure to stress that he would be under fire and would have to do his best to dodge the attacks. Once five minutes passed Muliere told me to get ready. I moved over to where he indicated we would need to start from and placed Azure on the ground. I moved back and waited for Muliere's signal.

"Begin," he said.

"Go," I told Azure.

Azure took off from the ground and entered the course. As soon as he entered the boundary the tiny cannons began firing rubber balls at him. He flew quickly towards the closest flag while dodging the balls and avoiding flying into obstacles. Within moments he retrieved the first flag and moved on to the next flag. He retrieved the second one without taking any hits then moved on to the third one.

"This isn't that hard," I thought.

Azure retrieved the third flag and that's when things got hard. As soon as he had the third flag Muliere signaled to Carl who pressed more buttons. The obstacles began moving faster and the tiny cannons began to move as well. They began targeting Azure and followed his movements. Before I could register what was going on Azure was hit with a rubber ball. The ball didn't hit hard enough to hurt but it knocked him slightly off course. He almost hit one of the moving obstacles before righting himself. Unfortunately, he was hit with another ball.

"Dodge!" I yelled.

Azure did his best to dodge the oncoming rubber balls while moving towards the next flag. Slowly but surely he made his way until he was close enough to grab it. Only two flags remained. Once again he managed to dodge the balls and slowly move towards the next flag. Eventually he reached his target and grabbed the fifth flag. Only one flag remained.

Azure made his way slowly towards the final flag. Finally, he flew close until he was only a couple of feet away. Due to the way this flag was positioned he couldn't just swoop down and grab the last flag. Fast moving obstacles kept him at bay. He flew around the flag a few times looking for an opening while dodging the balls. Eventually he made a move to grab the flag but pulled back before he hit an obstacle. Another rubber ball hit him before he began dodging again. He let out a frustrated cry.

"Calm down!" I said. "Wait for an opening!"

He continued dodging the balls while flying around the flag. Finally he gave another try for the flag. This time he managed to dodge the balls as well as the obstacles. He grabbed the last flag and Muliere immediately called a halt. Carl hit some buttons on the panel and the obstacles stopped moving while the cannons on that course retreated into their holes.

"You can call him back now," Muliere told me.

I called Azure back to me. He flew over to me and dropped the flags in my hands before landing on my shoulder. I could feel him breathing hard. I thanked him for his hard work and petted him for a moment.

"Congratulations," Muliere said. "You passed the first part. Do you want to take a break or move on to the next part?"

"Let's do the next part," I said.

I felt a little more confident now that I passed the first part.

"Very well," he said.

He led me over to the side with the second obstacle course.

"Your Poochyena will run the second obstacle course," he said. "This time, instead of retrieving flags, your Pokemon will be hitting targets."

He pointed to the course where some targets began to pop up from the ground and from some of the obstacles. Some of the targets were colored red while others where blue.

"There are 20 red targets and 20 blue targets that will pop up and then retreat at random intervals," he continued. "The objective it to hit all the red targets with an attack, any attack. You will have two minutes to hit all 20 red targets. You may not hit any of the blue targets. If you hit three of the blue targets you will fail. Again, your Pokemon will have to dodge attacks in the form of rubber balls. Your Pidgey was hit three times in the first part so you only have three hits left before you fail."

I was a bit upset that the hits Azure took carried over to the second part but happy that Shade had three hits left.

"You have five minutes to prepare," he said.

I spent the five minutes encouraging Shade and coming up with strategy. After the five minutes were up Muliere told us the get in place. Shade moved to the starting point and waited for the signal.

"Begin," Muliere said.

Shade did not wait for me to tell him to start. He moved forward quickly while dodging the rubber balls. He launched his Hidden Power at a red target that had just popped up. The attack hit the target and we heard a bell sound. He moved on to the next target. Shade moved from target to target, hitting the red ones while dodging the balls and trying not to hit the blue targets.

"One minute," Sharron called.

One minute into this part of the exam and Shade had hit more than half the targets. At this point Carl increased the difficulty of the test just like the first part. Targets began popping up and dropping faster. The balls also starting coming faster. Shade was forced to dodge more while trying to hit the targets. At one point he launched an attack at a red target and it popped back down while a blue target came up in it's place. The attack hit the target and we heard a buzzer.

"Keep going!" I said.

He launched another Hidden Power and got the target that he missed before moving on. As he was heading to the next target a ball hit him from behind.

"Shade!" I called. "Watch your back!"

"Thirty seconds!" Sharron called.

Six red targets remained. Shade made his way to each of them as fast as he could while dodging the balls. Each time he tried to attack them he had to take a couple of seconds to get the timing right. I was standing on edge as he hit the targets one by one until finally he hit the last red target.

"Time!" Muliere called.

"Seven seconds left!" Sharron said.

I sagged in relief. Carl deactivated the course and Shade moved over to my spot and collapsed on my feet. I reached down to pet him.

"Good job," I told him.

"Congratulations," Muliere said. "You passed the second part. Let's go back to my office. I have a pokeball device there. We can use it to give them both back their energy. They'll need it for the next part."

I recalled Shade and Azure into their pokeballs. The masters ushered me out of the room and turned off the lights on the way out. I followed them back upstairs were we entered Muliere's office. I handed him my pokeballs and he placed them on the device next to his computer. He then activated the device. The healing program activated and we all sat down while we waited.

"You did well on the first two parts," Muliere told me.

"Shade and Azure were the ones who did well," I said.

"They were only able to pass because of your training," he said.

"Maybe," I said. "Do you mind if I ask what the point of the first two parts were?"

"The first part was about survival," he said. "Each of the rubber balls represented a Pokemon attack. Your Pokemon had to complete a goal while trying to survive the attacks. Had he been hit with six attacks we would have considered him dead. That's being generous as there are Pokemon strong enough to kill with a single attack. Azure did well, he was only hit three times."

"And the second part?" I asked.

"In the second part, the red targets represented wild Pokemon while the blue targets represented civilians," he said. "The objective was to take out the wild Pokemon without endangering the civilians. If wild Pokemon were to attack Asidia, civilian safety would be top priority. Shade hit one blue target. That would be one civilian casualty caused by you. Accidents do happen but we're supposed to cause minimal damage to the city state and the civilians. If that were a real wild Pokemon attack, the blood of that civilian would have been on your hands and your Pokemon that caused the casualty would most likely be put down as a consequence."

I shivered as I thought about my Pokemon being put down due to an accident. We sat there in silence until the pokeball device indicated that the healing program was finished. Muliere handed me back my pokeballs.

"Ready for the last part?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

We left his office and entered the main part of the Gym. Some of the elite trainers from earlier were still there as well as the B-rank trainer I noticed earlier. All the trainers stopped what they were doing at a signal from Muliere. They recalled their Pokemon then moved out of the battlefield in the center of the room. Muliere signaled to the B-rank trainer and she moved up to us.

"This is Erica," he said. "She's going to help with the final part of the exam."

We both nodded to each other then waited for further instructions.

"For the last part the exam both of your Pokemon have to battle two of Erica's Pokemon at the same time," he said.

"A double battle?" I asked, surprised.

"That's right," he said. "Don't worry, she wont be using her strongest Pokemon. Still, she is B-rank so be prepared for a tough battle."

Muliere indicated for us to stand at opposite ends of the battlefield. I nervously took my spot. This would be my first time battling another trainer. The fact that the trainer I would be battling was two ranks higher then me only increased my nervousness. The elite trainers stood on one side of the field while the masters stood on the other side. Sharron moved forward a step.

"I will be refereeing this match," she said. "This will be an official examination double battle to determine if Trainer Jacob Singleton is ready for the next rank. The objective is for one trainer to knock out both of the opposing trainer's Pokemon. Should any Pokemon suffer accidental death this battle will be halted immediately. Do you both understand?"

We nodded.

"Both trainers will now send out their Pokemon." she said.

I released Shade and Azure from their pokeballs. Erica released her Pokemon at the same time. On the other side of the field a Deerling and a Herdier appeared.

"Azure has a type advantage against the Deerling," I thought. "The Herdier will be a problem. It's an evolved Pokemon and I have no type advantage against it."

"Are both trainers ready?" Sharron asked us.

We nodded again.

"Begin!" she said.

"Take Down!" Erica ordered.

Both of her Pokemon ran at increasing speeds towards Shade and Azure. White energy surrounded them as they ran.

"Shade, Double Team!" I ordered. "Azure, Fly!"

Shade began to run around while creating afterimages. Azure flew up high to avoid the attacks. Both of Erica's Pokemon stopped in their tracks. I was going to order my Pokemon to attack but Erica recovered quickly.

"Roar!" she called.

Her Herdier let out a loud roar that made most of the trainers cover their ears. The attack was worse for Shade. He stopped in place and tried to cover his ears with his paws. Azure flew up higher to try to escape the sound waves caused by Roar.

"Leech Seed!" Erica called.

Her Deerling swung it's head at Shade and released a seed at him. It landed on the ground next to him and sprouted quickly. The plant began to wrap itself around Shade and started draining his energy.

"Take Down!" she called again.

Both of her Pokemon charged at Shade. Shade was unable to dodge thanks to the Leech Seed holding him in place.

"Azure!" I called desperately. "Use Gust on them to cover Shade! Shade! Bite through the Leech Seed to free yourself!"

Azure began flapping his wings and releasing a strong gust of wind down on his opponents while Shade did his best to free himself. The Gust slowed down Erica's Pokemon but not enough to stop their attacks. They still made their way to Shade surrounded by energy.

"Shade! Faster!" I cried. "Azure! Try to increase the power of the Gust!"

Shade began tearing through the Leech Seed faster as Azure flapped his wings harder. Erica's Pokemon slowed down a bit more but kept moving forwards. They were more than halfway to Shade and he still had ways to go before he freed himself.

"He wont be able to free himself in time," I thought desperately. "If either of those attacks hit he will most likely be knocked out leaving Azure to battle them on his own."

I was trying to think of a way to turn this around when suddenly a bright light filled the room. We all looked up in surprise to see Azure glowing. The light flared bright enough that we all had to shade our eyes. Erica's Pokemon also stopped due to not being able to see. When the light finally vanished we turned back to see that Azure was no longer a small Pidgey. Instead, a larger Pidgeotto let out a loud cry and stared down at his opponents.

"He evolved in the middle of a battle!" I thought in disbelief. "I can't let this opportunity slip through my fingers."

"Azure!" I called. "Whirlwind!"

My command caught Erica unprepared. Azure flapped his wings and created a small tornado with his Whirlwind. He launched his attack toward his opponents. Erica's Herdier managed to dodge out of the way but the Deerling got caught up in the tornado. It was lifted and tossed back a several feet. It landed hard and struggled to stand up. By this time Shade had finally managed to free himself.

"Use Snarl!" I called.

Shade let out a strong Snarl that the Deerling was unable to evade. It was knocked over by the attack and was unable to stand again.

"Erica's Deerling is unable to battle!" Sharron called.

I let out a cheer. One opponent down and one more to go. Erica scowled angrily at me. I was feeling confident that I could win this battle until I heard Erica's next command.

"Thunder Wave!" she called.

Her Herdier released a wave of electricity at Azure. He was hit with the attack and froze up in midair. He dropped straight down and hit the ground hard. His body twitched as electricity coursed throughout his body.

"Take Down!" she called.

The Herdier rushed at Azure. He built up power as he ran.

"Shade! Intercept it!" I yelled.

Shade moved forward to intercept the Herdier. Unfortunately, right before he hit the other canine, it jumped over Shade and kept moving towards Azure. Before Shade could turn to try to intercept again, the Herdier hit Azure. Azure was knocked back a few feet and stopped moving.

"Jacob's Pidgeotto is unable to battle!" Sharron called.

I desperately pulled out Azure's pokeball. I let out a sigh of relief as he was sucked back into the ball. Had he been dead his body would not have been recalled back into the ball. I turned back to Erica and her Herdier. Shade and the Herdier were both growling at each other. Erica and I gave each other hard looks for a moment.

"Double Team!" I ordered.

Shade ran around creating afterimages again.

"Assurance!" I ordered.

"Odor Sleuth!" Erica ordered.

Shade and his afterimages ran towards the Herdier while gathering Dark energy. The Herdier raised its head and sniffed the air before turning to face one of the Shades.

"Take Down!" she ordered.

The Herdier rushed forward while gathering white energy. Both Pokemon collided head on. For a few second they struggled until the Herdier's greater strength won out. Shade was knocked back and landed on his back.

"Bite!" Erica ordered.

Her Pokemon did not give Shade a chance to stand. It jumped on Shade and bit down on his throat. Shade yelped and struggled to free himself but the Herdier held on.

"Master Sharron!" Erica called.

Sharron nodded.

"This battle is over!" she said. "Trainer Erica is the winner!"

Erica recalled her Herdier into its pokeball. I stood in disbelief for a moment before recalling Shade back into his pokeball. After a moment I moved towards Erica. I felt the other trainers watching me as I made my way to her. When I reached her I stopped and stared at her for a second.

"Thank you for the battle," I said finally. "I learned a lot from you."

She eyed me for a moment.

"You're welcome," she said. "You didn't do too bad. Don't feel bad that you lost. I'm more experienced than you and you managed to take out my Deerling. Congratulations for that."

"Thanks," I said.

I turned back to look at the masters. It appeared as if they were just finishing discussing something. Muliere moved to me when they finished talking.

"So," I said awkwardly. "I guess I'll have to retake the exam. When will I be able to take it again?"

"You don't have to take it again Jacob," he said. "You pass."

I looked at him in disbelief.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"You pass," he said again.

"How?" I asked. "I lost the battle."

"Yes you did," he said. "But you weren't supposed to win that battle. The point of the battle was to measure how you handle yourself against another trainer. You had to show us that you can keep your head even against a much stronger opponent. That's why you battled a B-rank trainer instead of a C-rank trainer. Frankly, if you had beaten Erica, I probably would have skipped over C-rank and promoted you straight to B-rank."

"Oh," was all I said.

"You did surprisingly well," he said. "There are some things you can work on but overall you proved your worth as a trainer. The fact that you were able to command your Pidgeotto just after it evolved without him trying to revolt just proves what kind of trainer you are."

I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Anyway," he continued. "Let me be the first to congratulated on passing the exam. You're earned a promotion into the next rank."

At this the rest of the trainers in the Gym moved forward to congratulate me. After a few minutes of them patting me on the back and shaking my hand Muliere led us back into his office. He took my trainer card and gave me a new one which had C-rank stamped on it. After congratulating me again he dismissed me. I left the Gym and went to look for Bobby, Ginnette, and Hugo to give them the good news.


End file.
